- •
IN THE CUSTODY 01= THE
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
"SHELF N°
**DAMS
2/1 l.^,
£, i y \ £*»-
t |
(hpviti being i^t and
;fr0n- ld>e
is taf conduct
, P>art 01 he afraiTT1
A S p C O N entions ofteieu their
modation, portion ef
,,v, Wp by
TREAT! w» f
^con-
O If
CHORCH-GOVERNMINI
PARTI.
ON my return, finding that confiderable charge
had arofe iince my leaving my patient with the
hoft ; which require fome further difburftmen ts ;
I fhall now according to my ability and oppor-
tunity, aft a neighbourly part for the healing of my pati-
ent ; which has become the more necefTary fince Mr.
Adams and Mr.Gofs, by way of anfwer to my former Trea-
tife, have endeavoured to tear open the wounds I had
bound up. And as I am on my journey, and in hafte, if
there fhould be fome incorrec*lnefs, I hope the public will
be as readily difpofed to forgive it, as to forgive Mr.
Adamses accrimo?iy.
In this Treatife, I fliall firft continue fome brief account
of the affairs of Bolton.
>
|
4 >
oer that at the clofe of my for-
J that the neighbouring minifters
prevent Bolton people from having the
hem, or enjoying, gofpel privileges a-
reported that they had entered into a
jn for that purpofe. Some few fingle
/in^ neard of fuch a writing, the church chofe
w iittee to apply for a> copy of it ; who have fought
jM vain for a copy ; and have not to this day obtained
one. After repeated follicitations, to a certain gentleman
for a copy, one of the committee received the following
letter from faid gentleman, viz.
" 1 — April 7, 1773.
Capt. Bailey,
I believe you can't but remember, that when you have
heretofore afked me to give you a copy of what a number,
of minifters who belonging to our affociation drew up to
manifeit our uneaf;nefs at Bolton proceedings, I then told
you that I did not know how I could do it, for the papers
which were with me, were only the rough minutes of
what was then done, and thus I have certified you fince—
but when you was here lafl, and did flill defire it, I tho't
I wojld write out what I had — and intimated to you that
I would fee what I could do to gratify you in your requeft.
But though I have accordingly gone about it, and did
what I then could in compliance with what I faid to you,
yet I find that what was drawn from thofe rough original
minutes and delivered to Mr. Gofs was different, and I
could not fay mine was a true copy. And as to ihejign-
ifig of it, I cannot certify it was figned by the affcciation,
us fuch, but as minifters cf Chrift, affectionately concerned
for the prcfperity of Chrift's kingdom, and in particular
Out of companion to precious fouls in that place. Some
of thofe who figned, I fuppofe can recollect, but I find not
vheir names left with me, nor had I thofe befides, who4
(By \ 21
when they faw it, fubfcribed- /fabtfSeinglfie, and
been a number of them. irom Id be
Thus have I in a meek manntf. \ is faf conduct
matter has been with me ; and that y **J$ 0l he ah uT "'
expe&ed what was not in my powemions ofte.eu their
know that there was" any cxaft Ration, portion ef
Mr. Go/s had. Let me know what you cai. U^P by
■ — being willing to fulfil every reafonable eng/pent n. v*f-
/ am your *s affectionately , ' ' ""con-
3»
The fuperfcription to the above letter was — " Tsu
Capt. Silas Bailey in Bolton, these."
There are many things very remarkable in the above
letter. The reafon of their applying more efpecially to
the gentleman that wrote the above, was becaufe it was
("aid he was fcribe of the alTociation, when the paper they
were in quell of was drawn up.
Now he fays, he " can't certify that it was fjgned by
the aiTociation, as fucb." What then ? he owns in the
letter that he had the original minutes of the transactions
refpecting the paper they were after ; and I underiiand
that he has owned verbally before two fubftantial gentle-
men, that he gave and attefled what Mr. Go/s had : and
yet now he profefTes not to know that there was another
paper upon earth like that which Mr. Go/s had. Strange !
that a number of minijiers mould draft) up Something, and
give off one authentic copy, fo powerful, as not only to
fhut Bolton people out of communion with all the churches
upon earth, but alfo to fhut all preaching out from then ;
and yet it was drawn up fo rough, that there never could
be another copy. This reprefents, as though ali chofe
minifters were idiots or mad-men ; at leafl had a fit of
frenzy or diilradtion upon them. But it is plain by the
jetter, that the author of it, had accefs to that which
.
X
<5 )
^ys, he finds that what he had
linutes, w*r different from that
'hy then could he not correct his
Jet Capt. Bailey have it, fincc he was
the Captain, and had fo fair an op-
. is above all things unaccountable is, that,
pf Chrijl, affectionately concerned for the
^.rny of Chrift's kingdom, and in particulai*out of
companion to precious fouls in that place," mould draw
up and fig* fomething, out of fuch companion for thofe
precious fouls, and never let thofe precious fouls have it !
Yea and when the very fouls they had fuch companion for,
have for above a year been diligently feeking for and requeu-
ing it. The only way I can fee, that we can account for this,
fo as to exculpate this gentleman from falacy,in faying the
miniflers drew up faid paper, out of compajfon to precious
fouls in that place, is to fuppofe, that they drew up the
rough materials, and the finifhed piece fome how got in-
to Mr. Go/s's hands, and that he is no minifter of Chrift,
nor has any companion for precious fouls in Bolton.
Be faid paper what it would, or drawn up out of what-
ever fpirit, whether compaffion to precious fouls in that place,
or a contrary fpirit ; yet it is evident, that it has ope-
rated, by the inflrumentality of the miniflers, fo as that
it has been with considerable difficulty, that Bolton people
have obtained the preaching of the word to them ; for
every one who goes there, even if it be no more than to
preach the word to thofe precious fouls, is confidered as
very offenfive to the neighbouring gentlemen in the
dimftry.
However, thev have found fome who have fortitude
enough to go and preach to them ; and in April, 1773,
gave the Rev'd Mr. Walley a call to fettle in the miniftry
among them -9 who fome time in the month of May fol~
( 7 )
_ *bpv)ii'beinp d^t and
lowing gave his anfwer to tarry \\ 'from. ld £e
month of June following they has ls ta£ condua
have inftalled the Rev'd Mr. Walley, Eoart 01 |ie aft^ry*
they fay in their rcfulr, finding diffentions ofte.eu their
people, and fome hopes of an accommodation, -portion ef
to the iirft Tuefday in Auguji following. *-*ep by
By the way I underftand, that the council fpent n. :**£
time and pains to endeavor that there might be a recon-
ciliation ; and chat it was propofed and engaged, on the
part of the town, that if Mr. Gcfs would put an end to
all his demands upon the town, his adherents fhould draw
out of the treafury all their proportion of money, raifetl
for the fupport of the gofpel to that day. What notice or
return Mr. Gofs and his adherents made to this I cannot
fay ; however, to be fure they did not take up with the offer ;
if they had, poffibly there would have been an end of the
division. I underftand that Mr. Gofs's adherents, profefs
that they are fo far out of charity with the others, that
they could not hold communion with them ; even if it
were in a fifter church, where they might chance occafi-
onally to meet. The others fay, they are not fo out of cha-
rity with them ; that they are with open arms ready to
receive them ; and I underftand that when the council
urged them to come together, it was anfwered on the
part of the town, that they had nothing to do ; for they
had offered their brethren their proportion of the money
raifed for the fupport of the gofpel, and flood with open
arms to receive them ; but the difficulty lay on the other
fide, they would neither accept nor come.
I underftand that in the recefs of the council, they had
an opportunity for attending fpecial ordinances ; at which
were about fixty communicants, and thirty-five children
baptized.
Auguft 3d, 1773. The council met according to ad-
journment : And there way alfo a aumber of gentlemen
£*~ —
I
\
8 )
Taid to be a council convened at
cue church nor their council could
rtificate thereof, by copy, or by hearing
lave, although that was an objeftion made>
a, that the church or council had no regular
their coming, what they came for, or how they
..invited : Which gives very good reafon to fuppofe
uiey had no regular invitation at all.
. However they, with the help of two or three of the
churches council, who were abundantly with them, brought
to pafs the defired effect for Mr. Go/s, fo far as to eat up
the time, and to bewilder fome of the council, fb as that
a vote was not obtained for the injlalhnent. It was obfer-
ved, that certain in the council, were fo bufy with Mr.
Gq/}y and thofe convened with him, and alfo in open coun-
cil, fo vehemently fet againft the caufe of the people, that
nothing could be done.
Accordingly on the 6th of faid Augujl> the council di£
folved, I fuppofe to the abundant fatisfa&ion of many of
the people. And I conclude they will fend out for a new
council, in which there will be none that will endeavor t©
bewilder, and turn afide thofe that are friends to liberty
and the conflitution. By the way I underhand it was
proposed on the part of the town, to Mr. Go/s and his
adherent1;, that upon condition Mr. Go/s would put an
end to all his demands upon the town, they, viz. his
adherents, mould draw out of the treafury £. 70 lawful
money, (which was more than Mr. Gofs's falary to that
time) and they to hear Mr. WalUy three or four fabbaths,
and then give their confent to the acts of the church and
town, refpc&ing Mr. TFatte/s call, or make no farther
tmeafinefs ; and if any of them could not comfortably
commune at home, they might in -any fifter church, and
no ofi'ence thereby be taken by their brethren at home ;
arul if they chofc to fet up public worfhip by themielve*
( 9 )
1beiiid'being-ff&\ and
hereafter, they fhould be exempt ' from . ld be
to the town. > ls fa£ conduct
By which it appears, that on the part oi |ie afraif A
every thing was done that could be. They ofteidu their
brethren and neighbours rnore than their proportion ef
money to that time, and then either to unite or keep by
themfelves for the future, in fhort to do juft as they plead-
ed ; and yet this would not do, it was not accepted by
Mr. Gofs or his adherents. Neither did it effect any thing
to conciliate the minds of thofe in council, who at the
motion ©f it, feemed as if that would wholly fatisfy them*
I fhall now make fome remarks on Mr. Go/sys Narrative.
As to matters of fact that he has denyed, which were
offered in my former Treat) fe, or any that he has advanced
as his own, I mail leave that to the people, who I doubt
not are able to vindicate themfelves to the public, as to
their conduct.
But there are fome things fo abfurd and contradictory
in Mr. Gofs's Narrative, that they highly demand fome
notice from me, fmce he has undertook to animadvert (6
largely upon the Narrative I had given. I (hall juft hint
to the public, wherein it appears to me he has not cleared
himfelf of grofs blame, even by his own fxory. In page
7th, the very firft quotation he pretends to make from my
Narrative, he has tranfcribed it effentially fatfe, leaving
out fome material words upon which the ftrefs of the ac-
count depends. I had in my 4th page faid, " that the
church voted to accept of his declaration for a fettlement
of the affair, UPON CONDITION he would read it off
publickly to the congregation the next Lord's day, and
lodge a copy OF IT with the oldeft deacon."
The words which I have here put in capitals, Mr. Gofs
in his pretended quotation, has omitted. That thcfe were
B
2
( IO )
.?*d in the account, will be feen in m£
and alfo what Mr. Gofs omitted them for,
.Jy gueffed.
Page », in pretending to exculpate himfeif on account
of the falfe copy left with the deacon, he does not pretend
to deny but that it was a falfe one, and he knew it when
he left it with the deacon ; but has faid much to prove
that he did know it was a falfe one. The plain Engliflx
of it is, that he knew he was impofing upon the church,
and violating his own folemn promife ; for the fettlement
was UPON CONDITION he would read it off puhlickly
to the congregation the next Lord's day, and lodge a copy
OF IT <with the oldeji deacon. As to the firft part of the
condition, I mail leave the people to fay whether he ever
fulfilled that. As to the laft part of the condition, it is
plain by Mr. Gojfs's own ftory, that he never has fulfilled
that ; for he don't pretend that he lodged a copy OF IT
*iait& the oldeji deacon. But he fays, it is well known to
Col. Wheicomb, and every other complainant, that he
neither wrote nor attefted that copy ; but that it was the
Rev'd Mr. Harrington who did both.
What does Mr. Gofs mean by this ! Was Mr. Harrington
his God-father, or fponfor ? Does he mean to make the
fvorld believe that the church were to look to Mr. Harring-
ton for fatisfaftion for Mr. Gcfls faults ? Well, but might
not Mr. Harrington do Mr. Gofs the favour, to copy off
anv thing for Mr. Gofs, that he defired him to ? No doubt
Mid he might, if he pleafed atteft tco, that he had copied
it off for Mr. Qofs. But when he had done, Mr. Gofs
knew it was not the thing that he was to lodge with the
deacon ; and yet he goes and leaves it with the deacon,
as the fulfilment of his engagement and promife. Does
not Mr. Gofs know that it is as bad to utter or put off falfe
money, knowing it to be fuch, as to make it ; nay that the
putting it off is the principal part of the crime ; and yet
i
i 2.
( " }
fheii)d being t^i and
here Mr. Gofs went and put off a falfe bill, i]d be
pains to prove to the world that he knew it was raf conduft
he put it off. And his plea for inaocency in the ahmt?
is, that he did not make it himfelf, and that he told, or
gave to underftand, that he knew it wis falfe when he put
it off !
And yet To many venerable councils have been there
to confider of thefe things, and have found little or no
blame in Mr. Gofs, and every time exhorted the people
to be at peace with him ! page 13.
What ! is it not as bad, knowingly and willingly to
utter and put off corrupt £dfe things in facred affairs, as
in civil ? Is this ho crime, or nothing blame-worthy r*
which in civil affairs, in the miidell civil governments,
is whipping, cropping, branding, pillory, im prifonment
and confifcation ; and yet the like in facred things, is
judged by feveral councils to be little or nothing blame-
worthy. I hope it will never be pretended, that there
were any minifters of Chrifr., or minifters of civil juitice
in any of thefe councils. Mr. Gofs fays they were his
peers, I fuppofe he means equals. I am very fory there
can be founda fo many,, fo much his equals in this land, as
to connive at, or judge fuch things harnalefs.
I truft it appears plain to every one, from Mr. Gofs
own Narrative which he has publifhed, that he never has
fettled with the church for their firft complaint ; navint*1
never fulfilled the CONDITIONS of the fettlemeht ;
but has made it many degrees worfe ; and that he treats
not only his own people, but the public with iliuflling,
falacy and deceit,
In the 9th page Mr. Gofs quotes a pafTage cut of the
yt\i page of my Narrative, in thefe words, " That (with
refpect to certain brethren of whom he complained) he
was afked whether he had taken the previous christian iters
with them ? that he faid he had ; that he was then afke4,
( 12 )
.-flight it forward before ? And that he
.^aufe he knew not of them till to-day, and
this afternoon."
In anfwer to this, Mr. Go/s fays, " There needs no-
thing more to be be faic — than what my accufers owned
before the council, viz. That at the fame meeting in which
I am accufed of this, I declared, that as to the thing they
would have thefe words affixed to, I neither had, nor could
have taken any fuch Heps, as I had but that day heard of
it ; — on which the council acquitted me of blame."
And truly, there needs nothing more to be /aid, to prove
Mr. Go/s guilty of falfehood, and the council of juflifying
of him in it. For it is plain the ftrefs of the complaint
or blame in that paffage, he quoted out of my Narrative,
was, that he fliould fay he had taken the previous christian
fiepsy when he had not, flj^ippearing by his own words,
it was impofiible he fhould ; and now Mr. Go/s has brought
the fame evidence with fome addition, whick proves that
it was falfe for him to fay, he had taken the previous flept
*with them brethren.
In the fame, viz. the 9th page, Mr. Go/s mentions a-
nother paffage from my Narrative, where I fpake of his
/hewing a paper to a council which he had promi/ed he would
not ; now Mr. Go/s owns he promifed fo ; but he fays there
*was nothing to prove he had foe wn it. But the very be-
ginning of the next, viz. 10th page, he plainly owns he
h^djhewn it. For repeating my words " that faid paper
as shewn was erroneous" he anfwers, " IT is the fame
which the church owned to be true," now if there be any
meaning at all in words, the word IT has reference to
/aid paper as Jhewn, fo that Mr. Gy}'s words in this place
Hand as if he had faid " that /aid paper as /hewn was the
/ame which the church owned to be true. And it is plain,
he means it fhould be taken in that fenfe ; for nothing is
more manifeft, tkan, that what he is after in this place,
( 13 ) \ 2
Is to wipe off the charge of the paper JbeWtz'being -^nei and
But if there was no paper fhewn, there could be
thing as error, truth or foment/* in the cafe. r conduct
Thus we have Mr. Gofs within the compafs of fix or
feven lines, both denying and owning the fame thing.
In the 14th page Mr. Gofs has a very remarkable paflage,
where after having given an account of their having two
days and an half of church meetings, all upon the fame
affairs, and each day the meeting held until dark, he
fays, " During this time we had not fettled one article,but
had really, in the courfe of the meeting, increafed the
number. It may be obferved here, that once, or oftener,
two articles were comprehended in one vote. But finally,
both thinking and faying, that all matters for which the
meeting was called, were paffed upon," Sec. A moft un-
accountable fet of words, that ever were put together !
Two articles comprehended in one 'vote ; and yet not one ar-
ticle fettled ! Not one article fettled ; and yet all matters
for <wbicb the meeting ivas called were paffed upon / Pray
were not the matters for which the meeting was called, to
fettle thofe articles ? And behold all matters finifhed and
not one fettled ! ! ! Upon which he di/Tolved the meeting,
and as I underhand has had no church meeting fmce ;
unlefs he thinks he can have church meetings when he
knows he has none, as well as all matters fettled, when
not one is fettled. This is indeed according to what he
holds forth in another place, where he would fain make
the world believe that the major part of the church arc
not againft him ; when he knows there are twenty-eight
againft him, and upon trial very lately he could not r^ife
above twenty for him. For to me it would be as eafy to
think, nothing to be fomething, as to think twenty to be
more than twenty-eight.
I cannot clofe up my remarks on Mr. Gofs's defence iqi
his Narrative, without obferving, that he has not (as I
( H )
any thing to invalidate what Qo\.Whetcomb has
i the appendix to my former Treatife ; in which
^c >~ol. has afTerted, that Mr. Gofs repeatedly declared
that he had never drank to that degree, fo as in any way
to affed or hurt his reafon, fpeech or limbs. And in his
written declaration to the church, on account of fuppofed
intemperance, Mr. Gofs fays, / do not pretend there is no
foundation of fufpicion j hut rather think it was mainly
owing to fome other caufe or caufes. And declared that he
could not, nor would not, make any further confefjion, and
that he jhould do violence to his own confcience if he did,
till at length — he acknowledges, that confcious of his own
fault i 'iefs, he freely and frankly con feffes his fn and faults,
in the excejjive ufe offpirituous liquors in federal inflances ;— *
And always infifled upon it, that his written declaration was
equal to this confefjion.
The above is too manifeflly pregnant with abfurdity,
contradiction and repugnancy, to admit any thing faid to
prove it. And Mr. Gofs's pretentions that the firft was
equal to the lair, is toogrofs an affront to common fenfe,
to fuppofe the weakefl capacity net inilantly to difcern it.
I fuppofe that when anything is publifhed, and an anfwer
to it publifhed alfo, what is not denyed, is allowed to be
true.
So then, here we have it, either afTerted or allowed by
Mr. Gofs.
I . That he knowingly and wilfully uttered and put of?
a bafe falfe bill to anfwer his promife to the church, and
therefore never fettled with them for their firft complaint :
but made it verily worfe.
^. That he fpake falfe, in faying he had taken chriftiaa
iteps with certain brethren.
3. That he violated his promife, in mewing a certain
pnper contrary to it.
4. That he has ftrangely contradicted himfclf in bis 14th
( H ) \ 2_
jage : Reprefenting as though nothing - ^as done, and
every thing done at the fame time.
5. That all the duplicity, and repugnancy of conduct
and pretentions, and the affront to common fenfe charged
upon him by Col. Whetccmb in the appendix, is true.
Mr. Go/s in his 16th page fays, " And now, who but
a Samaritan indeed, and his informer, could have repre-
fented things in fo partial and unfair a light." Whoever
looks over his ftory, and confiders the abfurdity of it, and
the felf-contradi&orinefs of his conduct, may no doubt be
ready to fay, Who but a priejl indeed, and one endued
with the fame fpirit of the priefls of old, who contrived
the felf-contradiclory falfehood, about our Saviour's re-
furre&ion ; who, but one filled with the fame fpirit and
infatuation, could put fo many abfurdities and repugnancies
together, and expett to have them received.
PART II.
I Come now to make fome particular Reply to Mr.
Adams, I fhall not hinder myfelf, or the public,
with noticing every thing in his piece that might well
deferve remark. I fhall only make fome brief remarks
upon fome things, and proceed to the main points, to
apply fome detergents to remove the acrimony || which
Mr. Adams haft call into the wound.
- !| Mr. Adams in his 5th page, mentions that we may
expefl acrimony in his piece ; a word chiefly and almofe;>
folely ufed in the pradtice of phytic and furgery : mean-
ing that quality in medicines or the humours of the
body, whereby they corrode, i.e. gnaw or fret the folids ;
therefore require detergent and emollient remedies,
which by their foftening adhefive and fheathing
quality, with a certain or peculiar a&ivity, may carry
off th,e acrimony&vA aflift nature to heal the difeafed part.
M ■
Firfl: I take notice Mr. Adams in his title page has
thefe words " Thou art a SAMARITAN, JebnVUl. 48."
Words fpoken by Mr. Adams no doubt with the fame
fpirit,that they were originally in the place from which he
quoted them. The reader by turning to the chapter will,
find the occafion of thefe words, by whom they were fpo-
ken, and to whom they were directed.
Mr. Henry upon this paffage, begins thus " Here is 1.
The malice of hell breaking out in the bafe language
which the unbelieving Jews gave to our Lord Jefus ; — now
at length they fall to downright railing — they were not
the common people, but, as it mould feem, the fcribe9
and pharifees, the topping men." — At his conclufion upon
this pafTage, he fays, " Perhaps becaufe Chrift juftly in-
veighed agairifr. the pride and tyranny of the priefts and
eldefs, they hereby fugged that he aimed at the ruin of
their church, in aiming at his reformation, and was failing
away to the Samaritans.'*
The reader no doubt by this time fees, that confidering
who fpake thefe words at firft, and the temper and defign
of them, there could not have been words found, with
all their circumftances, more apt for Mr. Adams to fpeak,
and to adopt as his motto.
The other text he has in his title page, viz. " Every
one that doth evil hateth the light," &c. John III. 20,"
will be found very fit and applicable, when confidered
with reference to the clergy, for <whofe benefit he profefledly
wrote ; efpecially thofe who figned papers againft Bolton
people, and would by no means let them have a copy ;
keeping what they had done, thus concealed (as we muft
fuppofe) left their DEEDS Jhould be reproved : For it is
plain by the text, that it is the DEEDS that are kept
in the dark for fear of reproof.
Having hus took a view of Mr. Adams* % threjbold,
I pafs to the infide of the work. There we find a great
clamour about my not affixing my name to my Treatife,
( i7 )
But if Mr. Adams had learned what that means which
I have in my title page from Mat. VI. 3, he might have
faved himfelf the trouble of all he has faid upon my not
affixing my name. Mr. Henry upon this place fays>
" The right hand may be ufed in helping the poor, lift-
ing them up, writing for them, drefling their fores, &c.
But whatever kindnefs thy right-hand doth to the poor*
let not thy left band know it, i.e. conceal it as much as
pofiible, induflricufly keep it private," &c.
Not that I fuppofe Bolton, or the man that fell among
thieves, were objects of charity, or would have needed
alms, had they not unfortunately been {hipped and wounded.
It may alfo be obferved, that in the parable, neither the
prieft, the Ievite, nor the thieves are named, any more
than the Samaritan ; and it might from me have been fo
kere, if Mr. Adams had been content.
I would alfo juft further obferve, that all Mr. Adams\
invectives againft my Treatife for want of a name, equally
lie againft many of the facred books, and particularly the
epiftle to the Hebrews.
I come now to fpeak fomething particular, as to what
. he fays in anfwer to the remarks on the fermon.
He takes great offence at what I faid about minor
parties {ctting up in oppofition to the body, and has made
two obfervations upon it, one confounding the other, as
it appears to me, but I have not time to animadvert upon
that, only I mufl obferve this, that Luther and our Fore-
Fathers he fpeaks of, did not feparate ; they teftifted again (l
what they thought was bad, and fo it went on from flep
to flep, till they were drove out. And fo fays Mr. Adams,
Mr. Gofs's adherents were 'violently difpcffejfed of the houfe
they ufed to congregate in, page 30. But this is a flander
upon the town, for which Mr. Adams deferves profecution,
according to his own words ; for where any one charges
that upon another, which if true, would fubject that other
C
( I* )
to any penalty, action lies ; and this is according to God's
word, Deut. XIX. 19. Then Jhalt thou do unto him, as he
thought to have done unto his brother ; compare with the
16th verfe : And Mr. Adams intimates that the town are
worthy of profecution for difpoffefling them : But I pre-
fume the town never did keep one perfon out of the meet-
ing-houfe, not even Mr. Gofs himfelf.
But I muft obferve, tlfat Mr. Adams's notion that re-
formation and feparation muftnecefTarily go together, as ht
appears to hold forth in this place, is a falfe notion. It is
indeed exactly the notion of the feparates which have been
in many places for about thirty years pail ; and behold:
Mr. Adams, in writing a piece for the benefit of the clergy^
is become a frrenuous advocate for the feparates.
But I know not of any account of a reformation being
brought about by feparation, or of good men- taking that
method : But by ftanding in their lot, and endeavoring
to convince and reclaim thofe they (land in focial con-
nection with. And this is according to fcripture, plat-
form and reafon.
In the 3 2d page Mr. Adams takes great offence at my
faying, that what conftitutes interefied perfons in any caufe,
is their winning sr loofing fomething in their perfons or pro-
perty, by the ijjue of the caufe.
This he fays mull mean " unlefs he wins or loofes
money by the event of the caufe— or clfe it is faying no-
thing," &rc. So that according to him, money is both
perfon and property ; i.e. in a word, money is every thing.
And indeed this is according to the general tenor of his,
book ; for though out of that he makes money ,or in other
words, the minifters falary, every thing, that muft be taken
cure of and fafc ; let confeience, duty, Chrift's ordinances,
and whatever, go where they can.
However, after he has faid many things upon it like
himfelf \ in the 33d page fays, il This idea is the moft
( i9 >
•ontemptible one that ever entered the head of any man ;M
And yet as above hinted this contemptible idea entered Mr..
Adams's head with fuch force, that he has laid it as his
corner ftone to many, if not moll of hi3 arguments.
Omiting fundry inftances of his adopting the contemp-
tible idea, turn to the 44th page : There he comes to
enquire whether elders have an eftate in their office ; that
this queftion is of great importance. The minifter's All
depends upon this. And through the whole of the next
page, there is fcarce four lines together, but the contemp-
tible idea has a place telling about ftipends, fabrics,
fupport, pittance, forty or fifty pounds.,eftatein their office.,
fettlements given to young minifters, &c. All to ihew whac
a fpecial and principle force money, worldly profit or
eftate, muft have in the confideration of fettling or dif-
milHng a minifter, and his relation toward them. It is
plain to fee that he has fixed the foundation of all he hyt,
upon that fuppo/lt ion which he calls the mcjl contemptible
ideay and the fame is very abundant in the next page : I
need net particularly point out all the places where he has
•adopted the contemptible idea, the reader will eafily difcern
them as he reads Mr. Adams, without my pointing tlvim
out. But here to invalidate what I have hinted, of his
ufing the contemptible idea about the elders eftate in his
office, Sec. perhaps Mr. Adams will fay, that it is not Co
contemptible an idea to SUPPOSE that a minifter will be
altogether inflaenced in Km feeding by the money Oi-
worldly profit he is to receive ; as to /up p oj "e the people \--i
difmiffing, are influenced by the confideration of the
money they mall loofe, and the trouble it ;vili ccft the:...
I fear there is too much truth in fuch an ebje-Slion , that
too many minifters, make their worldly pro$t and honc.i
almoft or quite the whole conliieration in iettlm?.
But as to the people, I never luggjfted that rno ;ey v,
•tfce orAy thing in consideration with them'.
idm
( 20 )
pretends ; or that no man can be induced to do a bad
action, &c. unlefs through the influence of money, as he
pretends, page 66th. But directly the reverfe, viz. That
the coil and trouble it expofed a people to,was a very great
ballance and guard againft their judging or acting rafhly,
or by prejudice, in difmifling a minifter, nor has Mv. Adams
in all his elaborate Treatife offered one word to fhew fo
great a ballance in any other fet of men ; or indeed any
ballance at all.
He pretends indeed, that councils are not fo likely to
be prejudiced, as the people : But this muft all be upon his
old notion, that they are a different order of beings. For
if they are mankind j why are they not as liable to pre-
judice as the people ? O fays Mr. Adams, the reafon is
plain ; people get prejudiced againft their minifter becaufe
he is faithful with them ; becaufe he tells them the truth, &c.
But does Mr. Adasns fuppofe, that a minifter never lias
eccafion to reprove his brethren in the miniftry, and dif-
pleafe them by. his faithfulnefs with them ? I fear there is
coo little of that faithfulnefs among them. However fup-
pofe any one mould be faithful toward his brethren in
the miniftry : Are not they as likely to be difpleafed with
him for it, as his own people ? Surely Mr. Adams muft
anfvver yes, and more likely than his own people, unle&
he has refort to the old notion that minifters are not man*
kind. But this he difowns in his prefent Treatife. There-
fore the anfwer muft be, that minifters are more likely to
be offended with, and prejudiced againft a minifter, for
reproving them than his own people : For the people co-
venant with him to be their watchman, and they know
it is his duty ; and a fenfe of this has a tendency to keep
them in awe, and to reft rain them from rifing up againft
him in prejudice and revenge ; and then it is to be hoped
that in ail congregations, there are fome who will like
the minifter the better for his faithfulnefs ; and will be a
* ( 21 )
ballance againft thofe who conceive a prejudice : But
when he comes to reprove a brother in the miniftry, them
that are moft likely to need reproof, they are likely to be
up at once, who made thie a watchman over me ? or if
it benotjuflin them words, the fpirit likely rife and
offence be taken, under the notion that he has no right
to reprove them ; nay if a minifler is not fo bold as to
reprove them, yet if he hold to fome opinions in faith or
practice as different from them, which they imagine
would be derogatory to their honor, power or pleafure, if
they fhould prevail ; then a violent lull of revenge will
rife againft fuch a minifler ; and having no worldly in*
terejl to come in competition with their lujl of revenge ;
as Mr. Adams in his 33d page allows the people have : I
fay the minifters having no worldly profit or ihterejft {land-
ing in the way of their luft ; but rather no doubt, imagin-
ing that it will ferve their power, honor or pleafure, if
they can find any difaffetted ones among the people of
fuch minifler, they will blow up their prejudice, and en-
courage them to pick a quarrel with their minifler, and
then they mufl fend for a council ; and the difafre&ed
party know where to fend ; the council comes, and if there
can be raifed a party any thing like, they will advife to
his difmiffion, and then behold he is judged hy his peers !
and then if there is fcarcely half againft him with all this
buftle, yet he muft go, the people mufl difmifs him ; for
according to Mr, Ada?ns, he is no minifler in for o ecckfi^
having a judgment of council againft him, the church
muft execute the judgment. For the church he confiders
as the fheriff, calling the church the executioners y page 47,
and indeed wherever he fpeaks of the power of the churck,
efpecially in the difmiffion of a minifler, it is a power (o
execute the judgment of a council, where a council can be
had : And where they have had the judgment or advice of
a council, it is at their peril if they don't execute it ; fof
( 22 )
in his 63d and 64th pages, he has it over and over, that
if a church has had the advice of a council, and do not
follow it, fhe is out of communion or fellow (hip with her
filler churches ; or in other words, her filler churches are
out of charity with her. And thus the good, honeft, faith-
ful minifter is thrown out of his place, to the great grief
of many, and perhaps the biger half of his people $ by
what Mr. Adams is very fond of calling the rational and
difpajjionate judgment of mankind, page 61 : And it will be
in vain for Mr. Adams to pretend here, that he can't be difmifTed
to the grief of more than half j for as before obferved,it is
at their peril if they do not, and there may, yea no doubt
will be fome who are really againfl the difmiffion, who
yet fear to act againfl it, and numberlefs fchemes to bring
about fuch an important affair. Neither will it avail for
Mr. Adams to alledge, that this is a mere conjecture ; for
there have been divers inflances of this kind. And Mr.
ddams himfelf in his 46th page fays, Paul's cafe with the
GalatianSy is a very frequent one, and goes on to hint a-
bout the people's extolling our Saviour, and foen after
Crying, away with him, away with him. It is plain enough
to any one that will read and confider them affairs, that
the people were fet on to thofe cryings out againfl Chrijl
and Paul, bylhe priefls and judaizing teachers. I cannot
fay indeed how much the minifters might tamper with
the difaffecled in the cafes I have known of: But that the
miniilers were difmifTed, not for any immorality, nor for
#ny corruption In doctrine ; but appeared to be mainly
owing to a diflike in the neighbouring minilhers. And I
Icnew of one initance where (if I miftake not) there was
jiot above fix or (even difaffected brethren, out of forty
members ; and this fix or feven with their minifter had a
council (the church had no concern with it) the council
tiad leveral turn s of meeting, and at lail drew up a refult,
t cannot fay jutt how it was worded. But the fay was,that
fhe council had difraifled him ; and though I do not mi-
( 23 )
derftand, that the church were fo well indoctrinated m
Mr. Adamsys notion, as to execute that judgment ; yet it
feems they viewed the peril fo great, that they fufpended
having ordinances, and whe ther he ever adminiftered to
them again I do not know.
Another inftance I knew of, where many of the neigh-
bouring minifters had conceived a diflike to a certain mi-
nifter, not for any immorality nor corruption in doctrine,
and there were two or three difafFe&ed brethren, out of
about forty members ; they got a council, who met time
after time, and condemned the minifter, and finally, when
they found the minifter and people did not pay fo much
deference to them, as they would have, and there appeared
(1 fuppofe) no other way to revenge, they advifed the dif-
afFe&ed to feparate, and recommended them to the general
court to get clear of their rates, fo that Mr. Adams is not
the only one that favours feparations.
Thus it may appear, that the danger of prejudice is not
efcaped by councils. And I do not at all dobut, but there
are minifters and churches which Mr. Adams himfelf would
not venture his Handing with, if it were at flake, notwiths-
tanding ajl his boafled dijintereftednefs, impartiality, rati-
onal difpajjionate judgment \ and infalibility of councils.
But Qxi the other hand, to fhew the probability of their
beitg prejudiced in favor of each other. So long as Mr.
Adams allows them to be mankind, and liable to be over-
come with temptation, prejudice, &c. If they do amifs
and no one nauft reprove them, as appears by what wo.
have confidered above, the fame will operate in council, as
well as in private : And if it is any thing they can by any
foift get off, they, as they are humane felfifh creatures,
have the greateft temptation to plaifler it up and make
nothing of it, and Mr. Adams himfelf, has laboured much
to prove that the minilter's All depends here ; the mi-
nister knows who ro choofe for his council, perhaps many of
( ** >
them his old clafs mates, or them that he has been fo fa-
miliar with, that he trufts if they do not fcreen him, they
will condemn themfelves. In fhort fo many things come
into confideration, that it requires but very little difcern-
ment to fee that there is the utmoft chance for prejudice ;
and no ballance againft it ; but every thing for it ; the
violent luft of honor, pride and power, with money too,
all befpeaking and propeling the prejudice of the minifters
in favor of their brother minifter under trial. So that if
a minifter is a bad man, there is all the chance in the
world, that the minifters in the council {hall be prejudiced
for him j for if he is bad himfelf, he will befure to choofe
fuch as he knows are fo near his own turn, and by perfo-
nal connections, fufficiently engaged to ferve the occafion.
But here Mr. Adams will fay, it muft be a mutual council,
and then the people choofe half ; here is a very plauftble
mew, but when all is done it amounts to a mere fhadow,
for the people have not half the chance the minifter has.
They can only guefs who are honeft, and if they mould hit
right one half, we may reckon they make a good guefs.
So by this time we have a quarter honeft men, and whea
they have got there, they dare not prefs any thing, left
they fhould offend their brethren, and expofe themfelves,
as in the cafe we confidered, when minifters are prejudiced
againft a minifter ; or if there is not that extremity ia
view, yet they lhall be alone,- and peck V at , and that is
uncomfortable : But if after all there (hould be fome, that
are fo hardy as that there is any danger of their diffenting
the refult ; the council will vote that the moderator lhall
lign the refult in the name of the council, and fo there is
jio opportunity for any to put down their diflent ; u and
•then appearances are faved, and all is well." As Mr.
A^arns has it in his 34th page.
But by this time we ihall perhaps hear Mr. Adams cry
out, there are the delegates to ballance againft thofe ter-
( *5 )
rible things, the Neighbour tells of in the minifters J
fuppofing that fhould be really as bad as he fays.
Here then we will try what help we are to expect from
the delegates ; many times when they fend, the letter
miffive will reftritt to one delegate ; and churches not
ufed to contention, may noc fee any trap, or any thing
unconftitutional in that, if any fhould Hart at it in the
church fending, there is a fpecious anfwer, that it will fave
coft ; if any in the churches fent to, they are filenced with
fome of their more credulous brethren, one is enough, the
minifters know bell about them things ; and if none but
he went, no matter ; and if nothing elfe will flop a refllefs
brother, he may in fome becoming manner, be twitted
with having an itching to go, and poffibly have the offer
of it ; by this time whether he accepts or refufes, he has
been fo bro<w-beat, that any one mud be very infolent in-
deed to fecond him.
But we will let the matter be fettled as it will about the
number of delegates ; we will go on to choofing them.
This no doubt is done univerfally by nomination, and
fome times perhaps by a Jilential <vote ; for the minifters,
many of them, are very fond of their Jilential 'vote. But
who nominates ? Why, who but the minifter ? May not
he have a voice who mail g© with him as his waiting man I
So then the vote will Hand thus :
Brethren if there be no objection, I would propofe bro-
ther (hould go to this council. No body objects.
Then with all proper folemnity, it is declared a clear
vote ! ! ! ! ! No-body objects. Why if they fhould, they
mud bring in their reafons. And who would be fo faucy,
irreligous and regardlefs of the fabbath,as to raife querelas
in that abrupt manner, upon the Lord's day,when he has
perhaps into bargain, juft been hearing a pathetic fermon
upon brotherly love \ He can certainly be deemed nothing
D
( zG )
kfs than a litigous fellow, that d'eferves to be dealt with
feverely for his ralhnefs and infolence.
By the way t mean to be underftood, that filenfial 'votes
in any cafe (where the cafe properly requires vote) are
a molt horrid infult upon the privilege of voting : And
it is a grofs fupinenefs in the people to indulge it.
But we will pafs by file ntial votes ; fuppofe this is nor
the method for chooiing delegates, in many places where
it is commonlv ufed in other cafes.
The next cafe is, the minifter nominates ftill ; if the'
brethren do not vote, or a tolerable number of them fo as
to call it a choice ; then it is a flight upon the minifter,
and the perfon nominated, fo that here the rights of the
church are very feafonably and prudently cozened out
of their hands.
The next cafe is, The brethren nominate. But pre-
vious to the nomination, the minifter with a gravity
mid folemnity peculiar to his facred fun ttion, calls upon the
brethen to nominate, but with this pro<vifoy there is
brother fuch an one is fo old, it will be too great a burden
for him to go ; and brother fomething is the matter ;
and brother ----- ****, &c. and when he has thus very
difcretely laid afide all fuch flicks as may not be thought
(o proper for the bufinefs ; now brethren you may choofe
who you pleafe out of the reft.
But fuppofe there is a free choice, th« brethren nomi-
nate and shoofe without any infringement. Some per-
haps one way, and fome another ; get the delegates as we
can, and go to council.
When they come there, according to Sayorook platform
there is no vote of council, unlefs a major-part of the
minifters vote it. But -if Mr. Adams mould fay, that is
- thixg to us, yet it will be found, that it is very much
to him, the fcope of his argument leads to that and refts
upon it. For this he is very abundant in, they muft be
^udged by their pun % and who can he mean by that but
c 27 )
the minifters ? Plough-jogers, Sec. are as mach peers in the
church, as they are in a council. But though it is not in
the Cambridge platform, that there mail be no vote, unlefs
where there are a major-part of the miniftcrs join ; yet
Mr. Adams is not the only one that has endeavored to in-
troduce that fcheme.
For if there mould be likely to be fo great a. number of
delegates in oppofnion to the favourite point in view* as
to carry it againil them ; thofe that are more docible,
may be made to fign a proteft againft the proceedings of
the council, becaufe there are not a major-part of the
miniflers for it, which will be very plainly figning, that
delegates are nothing ; and it will bear confiderable weight
for the prefent occafion, and help to introduce the &7v~
brcok fyftem,
But there is another way more efFe&ual than that, and
all appearances are faved too ; as Mr. Adams fays, the way
is, let the vote be tried; ibme vote,no matter whether it be
the major-part, itamay be declared to be a vote at all ad-
ventures, if it is a precious point. If fome mould requeil
the negative to be tried ; fome gentleman zealous for the
vote, may feverely rebuke him for his impudence, and
fav, there is no fuch thing as a negative,- it is contrary ts
all la-os and rule. If any one mould after this be fo hardy
as to defire further, that the hands may be counted, the
aforefaid gentleman will with a very good grace ! reply,
they Jhan't be couuted,it is a 'vote : The moderator no need
to fign it at all ; and fo all appearances are fav -d, and all
is <well, as Mr. Adams fays : And when a vote has been
fo ratified, it will be affirmed, urged and iniifted upon,
that it is impomble to alter, hy afide, recorder or far-
ther try or afTertain fuch a vote by the council.
Thus we may fee howMr.i^m's rational, difpfjionat^
unprejudiced, impartial judgment comes out.
And if after all, when things have been thus prudently
managed, and the miniller's fate thus determined, by fame
( 28 )
iuch rational difpajjionate proceedings, fo as that he may
think himfelf in good circumftances> if there fhould be any
of the delegates of the council fo refractory, as to be un-
eafy with their miniftcr, for the part he has acted to fave
nis brethren, they may juftly be looked upon febifmatich,
Jiirers up of f rife ; for trying to fling the fire into their
own churches, they may be very feverely frowned upon ;
for if it was fuch a crime for Bolton brethren to apply to
iifter churches,to know whether they were in charity with
them, if they, their wives and their children ^ were all
defervedly buried in the valley of Achor, (i. e. trouble) un-
der a great heap of minifterial bulls : Of how much forer
puni(hment,mall thofe delegates be thought worthy, who fet
up to defpife, and to find fault with what their own Rev.
pallor has done, and to bring fire into their own church ?
No doubt as much worfe 9.sfelf -murder is worfe than other
murder.
But be it as it will, as to thefe refraclory delegates^
there is no danger from that quarter, to Jong as what is
done in council, is no way to be called in queflion by any of
the churches who have fent : Which Mr. Adams is fo full
in page 61, 62 : And when as he has it in his 70th page,
*4 mutual councils are juftiy looked upon as the end of the
conftitution, from them there is no appeal." What then
can a few reftlefs refractory delegates do ; or even if there
lhould happen to be an auknvard imitator of a minifter ? f
They are part pf the council, and it muft be reckoned as
^ It is to be obferved that the children of thofe Bolton
members have been refufed ordinances abroad, becaufe
parents were againft Mr. Gofs.^
f This has reference to what he fays in his 86th page,
meaning as we muft gather from the whole, that one
who don't hold to his plan of councils, and negativing
the votes of the churches,is no gofpel minifler ; but has
( 29
7
their Act, if they were never fo much againft it ; they
have got to the end, and there need be no danger fiora
them, the minifter"s fate is determined, fo that he may
think himfelf in good circumfiances, as Mr. Adams fays,
° He ftill Hands reclus in ecclejia ; tho' the people know
him to be unfit for his office, and be obliged in duty to
withdraw from him ; yet he is ftill juftly intitled to the fup-
port they at firft contracted with him for, neither is it in
their power to withhold it," page 5 2d, and then no doubt
all is <wtll /// When the people cannot withold his falary,
and no help for them, having got to the end of the con-
ilitution ; the minifter's fate is fixed in good circumftances,
and the people's fate is in asbad circumflances ,being bound
by a refult, which in the fame page, he fays, " they are
in confcience bound to reject ; and unable to withhold a
full falary from one, from whom they are bound in duty
to withdraw ;" and therefore deferves not a farthing !
And not only fo ; but if they withdraw in oppofition to
a refult, all the churches are, or ought to be out of charity
with them, fee his 63d, 64-th pages ; and no body may go
and fo much as preach to them, under pain of being charg-
td nuith fuppor ting of fchifm, much lefs to adminifter ordi-
nances to them ; neither may they nor their pofterity have
or enjoy any ordinances abroad, or enter into the congre-
gation of the Lord, I fuppofe forever ; for Mr. Adams, znd
thofe he writes for the benefit of, have made no limitation.
Mr. Adams fays, page 5 2d, " This is confeffedly a hard
cafe, that people mull fupport a minifter whom they can-
not in confcience hear," But he has difcovered no
only an auk-ward imitation of the office, in which fling
at the minifters of Chrift, the public will eafily fee, that;
he has not an auk-ward, but an ample imitation of old
Diotrepes, who prated malicioufly again ft the apoftlc-Sj
who allowed the church their privileges, See Hid epi£
tie of John.
( 3° )
hardfliips in their being Ihut out from all gofpel privileges,
which may give very good reafon to conclude that worldly
profit is molt at heart with him, fince he Co plainly difco-
vers the hardfhips in being deprived of that ; and none in
being deprived of gofpel privileges. And therefore tho*
he fays it is the mo/l contemptible idea, to fuppofe that the
people will be influenced and reftrained in their attions
by the confideration of worldly intereft and comfort ; yet
he himfelf makes it the all for the minifter, and fees na
hardfliip for the people but where money is at flake. And
an inftance of that hardfhip he fays " will probably never
happen, if the council or councils that are judges in the
cafe "have had the evidence of their unworthinefs properly
laid before them." Here comes out the infalibility X it
can be upon no other than his old fcheme that councils are
fomething fuperior to mankind, which he has in his lafi:
piece faid fo much to wipe off. I underfland it has been
a queflion that has fome times laboured hard to determine,
where the infalibility lay ; whether in the pope, or in the
council. Mr. Adams has difcovered the infalibility to be
in the council, for which fome have thought that he might
very properly be honored with the dignity of a Cardinal.
But 1 rather guefs his Holinefs would not confer that hon-
nor upon him, fince fuch a difcovery would be derogatory
to the infalibility of the Holy See. However, I have
no doubt but he might have infcribed bis anftoer to the
council of the Conclave, and it would have been as accept-
able as the Neighbour was to Col. John, and Capt. Afa
Whet comb, which would have faved him his grievous la-
mentation of having no body to patronize it. But leav-
ing Mr. Adams to folace himfelf as he can — ■
I obferve he fuppofes this infalibility^ provided the evi-
dence is properly laid before the council. I truft the pub-
lic are well enough fatisficd, that in the Bolton affair, the
toau il ■ ould not hear, or pay any regard to the evidencr
J
( si ) ■"•:■'.
when it was laid before them, notwithftanding all Mr,
Adams has faid to the contrary.
Upon the whole, by what I have faid of the manage-
ment of councils, both againft and for a minifter/ (hewing
the chance, probability and danger there is of prejudicein
councils, and nothing to ballance or weigh againft it ; but
every thing for it ; the lull of pride, power, honor
and profit, all propeling to fuch a prejudice. And on
the other hand, hew great a balance there is in the peo-
ple againft it ; who by nature are no more inclined to
prejudice than councils ; I truft it fufficiently appears, as
I faid before, that the people are the moft proper judges
in thefe affairs.
But I have no doubt but Mr. Adams will find fault with,
at leaft fleer at what I have faid about the management of
councils,\vherein I have fhewn the probability of their being
prejudiced, and fay there is nothing in it. But that I mail"
leave to the public, nothing doubting what I have faid up-
on thefe things are fo well known, that there will be fuf-
ficient witnefs to the truth of what I have obferved in that
refpett ; and I truft, by what has been faid, the public
are well fatisfied that the people are more likely to do juf-
tice, and lefs likely to a& with prejudice, than cotmcils.
This feems to be one grand hinge on which all that Mr.
Adams has advanced turns ; and as he pretends to lay fa
much ftrefs upon what he fuppofes were the fentiments of
the. fathers who compiled the platform ; it may not per-
haps be difagreable to the public for me to give fome
iliort fketch of the fentiments of one of the fathers, who
wrote about the time the platform was compiled. Mr.
John Davenport, B. D. a famous NewnEnghtnd divine, ia
his book intitled, Thh CHURCHES CHARTER, page
116, having recited Mat. XVI. 19, fays, <f Thefe words
rjold forth the ratification of Chrift's grant of the Keys
anto a congregational churchs with the chiefty of power,
( 32 )
under Chrift, to manage the fame within themfelves."— .
After having faid many things to illuftrate and confirm
his point, he obferves fome will fay a particular church
may err in judgment , and therefore appeal may be made : To
which he anfwers in the 118th page, that " if poffibility
of erring in judgment, be a warrantable ground of appeal-
ing from particular churches, then the appeal mud be
made to fuch a Tribunal and Judge, as cannot err, which
is to be found only in heaven." He goes ©n to fpeak of
councils, &c. erring, that they may and have erred ; and
in ihort, brings it out to juft what I have alledged above,
that councils are more likely to err than particular chur-
ches in their proper concernments^ He concludes ,is ar-
gument upon this particular with thefe words, " Chrilr,
who well knew what is in man, and what is beft for the
good of his people, hath given unto his particular chur-
ches, notwithstanding their poffibility of erring, an indif-
penfible power of judgment, in their own matters, within
themfelves." And in his 155th page, he, by natural and
conclufive argument, (hews that particular churches are
more likely to do juftly, and deal tenderly with a delin-
quent brother than councils, claffis or fynods. In his
' 153d page, " If the elders and mefTengers of churches
afTembled in a fynod, (hall determine any thing contrary
to the rule,and prejudicial to the intirenefs of the churches
power within it felf, the church may, and ought to refufe
fuch fan&ions, as not being fancited by the Lord." In
his 1 39th page, he obferves, that" the prefcription of our
Lord Jefus Chrifl is, Tell the church ; and if he negleti t$
bear the church, let him be unto thee ms an heathen and pub-
lican. But he who appeals from the church, doth nt>t
hear the church. Therefore he that fo doth, deferves t«
be cut off, by the fentence of Chrift."
Such were the fentiments of that venerable father, who
•jyas in great repute, and particularly this performance of
\
( 33 )
his, both in Europe and America among the congregatiO*
nals. So that notwithstanding Mr. Adams's pretended
difcovery of the fentiments of the fathers, it appears that
one of the mofl noted of them was entirely againft him,
as to his notion of councils ; and that it was entirely coin-
cident with mine, that the people are more likely to do
juftice than a council.
I now proceed to confider another grand hinge upon
which Mr. Adams's fcheme very much turns. And th t
is, that advice and judgment both mean the fame thing.
Nothing is more redundant than Mr. Adams is in in-
filling upon it, that in difmifling a minifler, councils
(where they can be had) are the only conftitutional judges^
the only judges, and phrafes to the fame purport : And
yet'he frequently owns that councils are ONLY ADVI-
SORY ; that they have NO JURIDICAL POWER,
&c. In his fermen he advanced very much the fame ; and
in my former Treatife I obferved an inconfiftency. Mr,
Adams has now took it up, and faid many foolifh things
to vindicate it. That councils are only advi/orynzs been faid
by many beiides Mr. Adams ; but that ad-vtflry and judi~
ciary authority both mean the fame thing, to me is entire-
ly new. I fcarce know whether the public will think this
deferves an ammadverfion. I fhould as foon have expected
he would ferioui1y tell us that red and nvbite were both
the fame thing. However as this is now become a
cardinal point in the controverfy, there feems a necef-
fity to fay fomething particular upon it, left he fhould be
wife in his own conceit.
Firft, I mull take notice of fome things he has advan-
ced to clear himfelf of this inconfifrency, and efUblifh to
important a point.
I. He tries to father it upon the platform, page 36,
fays he " adopted the language of the platform, and that
.- . c U )
" he has faid nothing more nor lefs than that does in flf*
K'tion to the fame thing," ; and refers to the chapters oil
communion of churches arid fynods. By turning to thofe
chapters we find, firft that we may have occafion to re-
quire t^e judgment and cour.fel of other churches, touching
any perfon or caufe, wherewith they may be better ac^
quainted than ourfelveS. Another place it fpeaks of par-
ticular churches approving and accepting the judgment of
a fynod. In the nex't chapter, fpeaking about what ''be-
longs to fyriods and councils, that it is fO debate and de-
termine coittroverfies of faith, and cafes of confeience, to
clear from the word, holy directions, &c. But then in the
fame fe&ion— -They are not to exercife any acl: of church
authority or jurifdiSion, But according to Mr. Adams,
councils are confiituted judges : The platform that
they are to exercife no a& of jurtfdiclion ; and yet Mr.
Adams fays that he faid nothing more nor lefs than the
platform. I wifh he had remembered his refolution of
care to keep truth of his fide.
It is plain enough to ally one that will confider of if,
that what the platform fpeaks of councils debating and
determining, it means to clear up truths from the fcripturc,
as the Jerufah?n council did, and demonstrate what is the
mind of God from his word and works, fo as to enlighten
and convince any that may be at a lofs in any point, and
not to think to impofe their judgment or fentence ; or if
to treat churches as children or ailes, call their fentence
only ad-vitej to found foft, fo as not to ftart the church.
It matters not what it is called ; if Mr. Adams is a mind
to trifle with words, and call a hatchel a pillow t and ?.
born-bug an eye-fio?;.c^ he may with as much fenfe as to fay
that conjtiti.ted judge; are only ad<vifory ; And he may for
himfelf, lay his owa head upon a hatchel, and put hugs in
his own eye<, and have his adviiers conjlituted judges if he
p!e2fes, provided ke gets no body's elk head and eyes on
. 4
(35 )"
the hatchel full of bugs, nor their conferences hampered
with, refults of councils ; nor privileges of gofpel ordinan-
ces undermined by miniflerial combinations, nor their
purfes pillaged, by maintaining thofe they know to be
unworthy.
But Mr. Adams farther to make out his fcheme, that
councils are conflituted judges, and yet only advi/ory, fame,
viz. 36th page, fays, " they cannot enforce their judg-
ments or determinations by coercive power." What does
he mean by this ? when in other places he is full of it,
that if a church. dont obey or conform to the refult, then
all the churches are, or ought to be out of fellowflrip with
that church ; efpecially all fuch whofe meijfengers were
upon the council ; and in the 54th page, that they may,
and ought to withdraw communion from fuch church,
What, is here no coercive power in this ! coercive means
to keep in, reftrain or compel. And is here no reftraint
or compulfton ? If Mr. Adams fets nothing by gofpel or-
dinances, fo as that it would be no compulfion to him, or
reftraint upon him, to be fnut out from them, I truft all
be not like him, there are fome I hope and truft, who fet
by gofpel privileges and ordinances, fo that it would be 3
very great reftraint to be hedged up from them. But lock
two or three lines farther, there he fays, f* It is very pof-
fjble for councils to hear, judge and determine a matter,
without having their judgments enforced by fecular pow-
er." No body difputes but councils may juqgfjj and
what not ; and never have their. doings enforced by tbe fe?
cular power, nor any other ; and there are" many of their
refults and determinations, I have no doubt it is a pity
they ever OiouU be enforced at all. I?ut Mr, Adams is not
willing it mould go off fo, that refults of councils mould
not be enforced by the fecular power, as he pretends in the
above quoted pafTage : he is tor having the fecular power
enforce the refult of council, whether it be good or bad?
( 36 )
For in his 5 2d page, tl If a council fhould direct a peo-
ple to fit down eafy with an elder whom they know to be
unworthy of his office — they are bound in confcience to
reject fuch refult, and to withdraw from their unworthy
elder ; — yet he is juftly in titled to the fupport they at firft
contracted to give him, neither is it in the power of his
people to with-hold it.'* How fo ? Why cannot the peo-
ple with-hold it ? Why turn to the 55 th page, there you
will find he fays, that " if councils judge the minifter has
fulfilled the conditions of the contract on his part, the ci-
vil authority or judges of our courts of law are to put forth
the coercive power, with which they are veiled, and
compel them to do it." i. e. compel the people to pay
him his falary. We find this further confirmed in the
fame page near the bottom. " Should the minifter
he neceflitated to apply to the civil authority for his falary,
the only queftion neceffary to be determined is, whether
lie. is or is not their conftitutional minifter ? Of this quef-
tion, judges of law, as fuch, are not the proper judges*
To an ecclefiaftical judicature it belongs to decide it : To
the ecclefiaftical council therefore, who are the conftitu-
tional judges of this matter they are to go for the refoluti-
pn of this queflion ; an anfwer to which they will find
contained in their refult j and if by this it appears that
they judged he was not unworthy of his office — then
they muft give him his falary."
Here we fee he fays the only queftion to be determined
when the minifter has to fue for his falary, the council mull:
determine ; and if the court finds that the council have
determined it in favor of the minifter, the court muft give
him his falary. It is plain enough by what has been hinted
fro/n theft: pages, that Mr. A tarns means to have the
determinations of his councils of judicature enforced by co-
ercive power, both civil and religious, even to the taking
away the peoples money, and depriving them of gofpcl
( 37 )
ordinances, and that whether their determinations are juft
or not. It is well our lives are fpared thro' his abundant
clemency ! However we may by this time fse what his
conjiituded judges are to do, whofe rifult is only advifory,
and not to be enforced by any coercive or fecular
power.
Iu the 37th page Mr Adams fays, his " Remarker ap-
pears to have his mind f© filled with ideas of law and
courts of juftice, that he thinks every thingabfurd that doe^
not conform to thofe ideas and rules. Hence becaufe the
judgments of civil judges are binding by coercive power,
he foolifhly enough argues, that no perfon can be a judge,
even in, an ecclefiaftical court, whofe determination is only
advifory." The reader will obferve I don't charge him
with having his mind filled with ideas of courts ofjufice :
His mind feems rather to be filled with courts of injujlict ;
ecclefiaftical courts, whofe determination is only advifory,
without any coercive power depriving people of gofpel pri-
vileges, who do their duty, and go according to their
confcience, and binding them to fupport a mini iter they
know to be unworthy ; and if the people refufe to pay,
"then the civil court mufl make them, afking no queftion,
only whether their eminences § have determined it fo ! ! !
I truft the public will eafily fee that his mind is as much
filled as mine, with the ideas of courts* though not of
juftice : and that his book is as much, and more filled than
mine with terms of law, courts, judges, power, money,
£ipends, &c. &c. However, obferving thefe things I
don't fufpefl as he does about the Neighbour, that fome
juftice of a 'very fender capacity bad a hand in it. I ra-
ther hope there could not be found a juftice of a capacity
fo flender as to provide the rough materials for fuch a
$ Eminence is a title given to cardinals, who are thq
fcpe's council, or council of the conclave.
\
C 38 )
ilruftare as his. f Before I difmifs this important queftion,
viz. Whether advice and Judgment both mean the fame
thing, (having fhewn how Mr. Adams argues upon it) I
will offer fomething myfeif, (hewing the difference of them
terms, as they are ufed in common language ; withal
fome farther expofmg Mr. Adams'* notion, and fo leave it
to the public to fay who is mofl right, he or I.
In which I obferve,
The word judgment ism applied in both a logical and legal
fenfe, Judgment in a. logical fenfe means a faculty, or ra-
ther act of the foul, whereby it compares it's ideas, and
perceives their agreement or difagreement. But judgment
in law, is the fentence of the judges upon a fuit, which Is
binding, and determines the ftate of thoie concerning
whom it is made j — in this fenfe we may consider judgment
whenever the refult of the mind viewing things, is to de-
termine our own, or others ftates or actions. Advice feems
properly to mean the fetting before the mind the arrange
.kj ! >■ '-■ ;.?
■f Since I have mentioned what Mr. Adams fays page
38, about a juftiee ofajlender capacity having a hand in
my former Trearife ; every one who reads it may know
he aims at Col. Whetcomb, toafperfe him. I therefore
take this opportunity, to declare to the world, that the
Col, had not from me, and I am very certain he had
not from any body elfe, the leaft knowledge or grounds
to miftruft any fuch thing was in hand by any bodyfr
till it came to him at Bojlon, from he knew not who,
And I have good affurance he has not been told who
the Neighbour is to this day, and all the guefs I ever
heard of his making he miffed in his guefs, I can't bat
remark that Mr. Adams's infolence is wonderful, in
pointing fuch afperfions at the Col. fince he therein fo
•ingly reflected, not only on the Col. and on the
town who have for many years betrufted him as their
leprefentatlve ; but a!fo on the whole elective body
.o( the province, who after many years proof of his un-
derftancfing and probity, accounted him worthy of a
Hie honorable council board of this province.
X 39 )
ment, c'ompaiifon or afTemblage of Ideas which is the pro*
per exercife of the mind in forming a judgment, fo as tha?
he to whom it belongs, is better able to make up judgment
in a legal fenfe ; IB that he who gives advice^ although
he necefiarily judges in the affair, in a logical fenfe ; yet
in common ufe of words he is noyWg-*,nor does he make
up my judgment in a legal fenfe ; but only communicates to
him who is to judge, afliftance to form a right judgment ;
agreably Mather in his RatioDifcipl. page 172, fpeaking of
our New-England fynods fays, "They pretend to no
juridical power ; nor any figniricancy but what is merely
injlrucli've and fuafory," Hence fome fpeaking of churches
and councils* have expreiled it, that it is the churches
prerogative to judge, and councils main province to reflect
light, inorder that churches might judge uprightly.
Now becaufe in giving advice, offering light, Sec,
there muft be the exercife of the judgment in a logical
fenfe, and the platform ufes it fo fpeaking of councils ;
therefore Mr. Adams foolifhly enough (as he fpeaks of
theNeighbour) concludes that councils are to be judges in
a legal fenfe, and as I have above fhewn, runs up his ton*
fiituted judges which are only advifory, to the higheft pitch
of delpotifm.
To clofe this grand queftion about councils htm^ judges
and only advifory, I mail infert a few paffages from Dr»
Stiks's Cbrijhan Union, who, though not an ancient
writer, yet in all r ef peels Mr. Adams's fuperi-or (a* he fays
about the Neighbour page 75th) and the Dr. may be al-
lowed very good authority, . as one of the fathers, fince
what he fays is fo. much built upon ancient writers.
The Dr. in his 39th page, fpeaking of the gradual en-
croachments of the clergy in former times, among other
things, he mentions their acting as councils^ which (he fays)
have proved the grand fources of corruption and tyranny \
The Dr. in his 45th page fpeaking of our congregati-
onal churches fay?. ,£ that what ought to be deemed th<?
( 40 )
fubje£l of ccclefiaftical animadverfion, every church is a
complete judge of, and perhaps is feldom miftaken."
He goes on in the next page and fays, that if they may
fometimes be at a lofs, and have recourfe to a council,
yet they referve to themfelves liberty to receive or refufe
fuch advice when given. Same page he fays, " Therefore
though our churches in forming their decifions in matter*
of difcipline, make application to a council — yet the
congregational churches univerfally hold a negative or.
the refult of that council, or rather the decifion of fuch
council is of no force, till received and ratified by the in-
viting church, nor does it render that church obnoxious to
the vicinity, if me recedes from the opinion of the coun-
cil."
The DoSor fpeaking about councils page 48th, quotes
the following words from Mather's Ratio Difcipl. page 173.
ts When they (i.e. councils) have done all, the churches are
at liberty to judge how far their advice is to be fol-
iowe*d>" The Dofter adds, " Thus ftri&ly fpeaking,
congregational councils have no power at all." The
Docler in his 60th page, fpeaking of the opinions of the
fathers, viz. Reverend Mr. Cotton* Reverend Mr. Daven-
fort, and Reverend Mr. Richard Mather, one of the com-
pilers of the platform, he fays, " thefe gentlemen were
intirely againft the decilive authority of councils — or that
they (h»uld be vefted with power to enforce their decrees
with a penalty of non-communion, they would have them
to give their opinion and advife on difficult cafes, as rea-
ders of divinity in the univerfity,or men learned in the ufages
and cuftoms cf the churches. They were to the churches,
if I may borrow an illuftration from high example, what
the privy council are to the king. —If the church received
their advice it had force ; ■ nor was any church to be
Iiereticated for not approving the refult of a fynod or coun-
cil." The Doctor after haying faid many things to the
( 41 )
like purpofe, fays, " This I take to be a juft fummary
of the opinion of the fathers on ecclefiaflical polity in
general, and the constitution of councils in particular."
And then he goes on to enumerate fevcral of the fathers
by name, their writings, and fome extracts from them,
and in his 6zd page has the following words from Mr.
Hooker (who was one of the fathers at the time the plat-
form was compofmg) fpeaking of fynods fays, " They
fet down their determinations, and fo return them to th:
particular churches whence they came, and their determi-
nations take place, not becaufe they concluded fo, but be-
caufe the churches approved of what they have determi-
ned."
Thus I truft I have fufficiently anfwered Mr. Adams's
notion of councils being conjiituted judges, and yet only ad^
•vi/ory ; fhewn the abfurdity of it, and that the fathers and
other worthy writers are of my fide the queftion. This
and his notion about councils being the moil likely to do
juftice> which I have alfo anfwered, feem to be the two
main hinges on which his whole fcheme turns.
I now proceed to make fome fhort and general remarks
ob fome other pafTages which ought not to be omitted.
What he fays in his 6 ill and 6i& pages about my .13th
page, where I fpake of the propriety and duty of councils
making return of what they have done, I mould fuppofe
that what I have hinted from the fathers, &c. were fufH-
cient to anfwer all Mr. -Adams has faid upon that ; cnly
as he has faid fome things upon it not true ; and alfo fome
who are friends to the caufe I am upon, have thought that
claufe did not ftand fo well as it might ; fuppofing that
fome might be led by this to conclude that the inviting'
church could not fafely accept of the refult, till it had re-
ceived a fanclion in the invited churches ; or tha^k would
be of no avail or authority till that was done. The can-
did reader will then pleafe to obferve, that when I fpake
F
( 42 )
of c< the refults of councils needing the fanction of tha
churches to make them of any avail," I had hinted the af-
fair of the churches voting charity with Bolton church.
This voting charity implied a queftion whether they were
Co ? I fuppofed the pretended reafon for their being out
of charity, was becaufe Bolton church had not accepted
the refult of council, therefore when I faid that the refuH
needed the fanction of the invited churches to make them
of any avail, it means any avail to break fellcwfhip or
charity, and immediatel) I quoted the platform, chapter
XV. feet. 2. where treating on the third way of com-
munion, the only way the platform knows of, to call a
church out of fellowfhip. The platform fays, " particu-
lar churches approving and accepting the judgment of the
fynod," Sec. And the whole I fay afterward is of the
fame tenor. But the authority of the refult, the reader
will remember I considered as being altogether, in its be-
ing according to the word of God and reafon ; and there-
fore if the inviting church can accept it as fuch, fhe has
full authority to do it, whether it is ever accepted by the
invited churches or not. And the reader will eafily fee
bv what I have adduced from the fathers, that however
churches may diiter as to their acceptance of a refult, yet
they are not to be confidered as out of charity or fellow-
fbip with each other, and that councils mould make re-
turn of their doings to their refpective churches. The
cafe is plain for councils to be judges of evidence and
matters of fact, according to his notion, as a court of ju-
dicature. There would be an infignirkancy in their risk-
ing return ; but to advife as to points of faith and practice
upon the cafe laid before them, according to the word of God;
opening, illuftrating and comparing facts with the word of
God, as the jTeru/alem council did, fo as to inftruct and
enlighten the mind. The whole church can be judges of
it as well as the meflengers that go, and if they have d:f^
( 43 )
covered any thing valuable, their own churche: ought t§
have the benefit of it ; and if they have made any miftak?
the church may have a chance to difcover it, and may do
their mefTengers good by mewing thera their error. Thus
we find in the ferufalem council, it pleafed the c.pojlles and
elders, <witb the whole church, to fend, Sec. Acts XV,
22. But it could not pleafe the whole church unlefs they
had a hearing of the refult. Hence Mr. Adams may fee,
that I take this extraordinary pofition from divine writ as
well as from the fathers. I will juft obferve one thing
more in this place, and it may fave me faying any thing
farther of what he fays as to the bufwefs of councils. And
that with refpect to witnefTes before councils. There is
no doubt, but a delinquent may difpute the proof of his
Crimes, as well as other things ; and in fuch cafe the
church Iflay lay before the council what evidence they
have, and the council ought to compare it with the direc-
tion in the word of God, concerning proof of crimes, a-
gainfl a perfon, and if they difepver the church inclined to
take, that for proof which is not fo, according to fcripture,
then they muft inftrucl, and endeavor to convince and
perfuade into the truth ; or if they fee that the church
are like to mifs and iiot take that for proof, which is fo
according to fcripture, to enligh ten them in that. And
this, if I miflake not, is all that councils have to do with
witnefTes ; for the judgment finally i flues from the church,
who are the fole judicature in ecclefiaftical caufes, as is a-
bove fhewn, and Mr. Adams himfelf, in his 44th page,
.fays, that the power of jurifdi&ion is in the chord .
I may next take notice of what he {ays about the au-
thority of councils.
And firil, What he fays psge 40. of a refult'; bavin
binding force in it without appearing to agree with tfy
word of God. He teems to fiippofe, that r> refult max
agreable to the word of God, and not appear to be ht
ijence tkat jt has binding force in it when i: don't appear*
• i
&
■<-
( 44 >
An invifible binding force ! For to apply it to the affair
we are upon ; the people declared it to be above their
comprehenfion : But bring it to the principles of the
platform and the fathers, and Mr. Adams too, and refults
are only advifory, infruclive or enlightning, the force of
which can't confift in any unfeen power or force ; but
in fome light being communicated to th« mind.
As to what he fays page 71ft, of my giving a partial
account of the authority or binding force of councils or
their refults ; becaufe he fays they are an ordinance of
God, for which he brings in the platform. But the plat-
form fays, without their agreeing ', they bind not at all.
Therefore if that is wanting, there is- no authority or bind-
ing force ; and the apoille fays, though <we or an angel
from heaven preach any other gofpely &C let him be accurfed.
Gal. I. 8. And fo if any council draw up a refult con-
trary to the word of God, let them be accurfed, inftead of
being regarded as having any authority or binding force.
For I don't think Mr. Adams himfelf will pretend they
are any more an ordinance of God than the apoftles were.
It is plain by the platform that when their agreement with
the word of God is wanting, all binding force is wanting.
And what Mr. Adams mould carp upon that for, I can't
conceive ; unlefs he'would have it be thought that coun-
cils and minifters have fome authority, fo as that what
they fay mould be received upon that : And then his ho-
linefs has good authority for all his impofitions upon the
church, and the people have no right to call it in queftion.
As I am now upon what he has faid againfl my defini-
tion of councils, I would juft obferve, that as to the vfe of
councihy I don't find he has faid any thing worth ramark,
otherwife than what he has faid in the fore part of his
book., and therefore is properly anfv/ered in v.hat I haye
faid already.
( 45 )
Having gone over what he has faid about councils,worthy
©f remark : Before I pais to the other parts I will make
fome general obfervatiens upon his notion of councils.
OBSERVATION I.
Mr. Adams makes the binding force of councils to be
binding on men's eftates, though not on their confeience?,
page 5 2d, by the refult of councils they are obliged to
fupport a minifter, which they are bound in confeience and
obliged in duty to rejett. And the whole drift of this book
is, that the icfult of councils ihould bind men's eftates.-
But the platform makes the binding force of councils to
confift, in their being according to fcripture, which there-
fore binds only on the confeience. Therefore his councils
are repugnant to the platform.
OBSERVATION II.
Scripture councils take off burdens ; Mr. Adams's coun-
cils put on moil heavy burdens; non-communion, pay-
ing money for nothing, &c. therefore anti-fcriptural.
OBSERVATION III.
Mr. Adams himfelf, in his 71ft page allows, that the
whole binding force or authority of councils, confifo in
their being an ordinance of God, and their refulc being
according to the word of God. But there is no ordinance
of God in his word, that councils fhall be confituted judges
to determine men's eftates.
But Mr. Adam\ councils though they draw up a refjlt
contrary to the word of God, it mail determine men's ef-
tates, let their duty and confeience go where they can, vid.
page 52.
Therefore his fcheme of councils being eonfiituted judges
as he tells of, is contrary to fcripture, platform and him-
elf.
However T fnall not dwell upon his inconilftencies with
himfelf here ; but give a catalogue of them by and by*
But before I proceed to that, I jnuft make a few remarks
( 46 )
upon what he has faid about the negative power, and a-
bout the keys.
Mr. Adams when he firft begins upon the negative
power, page 75th, gives it all up. Says " it is only a fi-
lent non-confent to the a&s of the brotherhood," and
goe^ on to fay that it is no more than every ether man has-
<i right, and in feme cafes hound in cenfeienxe to do.
This no body that I know of ever difputed. But
|n his 79th page, this filent non-confent makes a church
eft of no validity. And in his 8 2d page, it is a. power al-
ways laying by them, Sec. His notion to make out this tran-
fi% is, that a minifter is a ruler. This neither does any
body difpute that I know of ; rnoft certainly my former
Treatife was very full in allowing this.
His notion evidently appears to be that minirters are
no rulers, unlefs they have this negative upon the a&s of
the church. But this notion is grofsly futile, and contra-
ry to known experience. The governor of Connecticut
has no fort of negative upon the court nor council ; if the
houfe of reprefentatives5and major part of the council pafs
an aft, it is a law to all intents and purpofes, whatever the
govener may think of it. And that I fuppofe is as re-
freshable well regulated government as any upon the con-
tinent 5 and by what I have underftood, that was the cafe
with this government under the old charter, which Mr.
Turner in his eiefiion fermon laffc May, fays was inhuman-
ly murdered, page 18th. And in every town or parifh
meeting, the moderator is a ruler, and has great authority
to puniih offenders. And yet he has no negative upon
the acta of the town or parifh. I might inftance in fun-
dry ether bodies, fo that Mr. Adams's pretending that it
makes a minillir no more than a private brother, not to
juve this negative, or that he is no ruler without it, is ftufe
pid and futile to the laft degree.
Dr, Stiles before mentioned, fpeaking of ancient time?,
( about the time the platfitfm was compofed, in his 64th
( 47 )
page fays, " The churches would not bear an actual ne-
gative of the elderfhip, whether in a fmgle perfon ©r
more." The Doctor goes on to fpeak many things well
worth tranfcribing had I time, and in his 68 th page, re-
fering to fome claufes in the platform about the power of
rule and power of privilege, fays, " Under the umbrage
•f thofe claufes, the paitors of fome churches purely con-
gregational^ have claimed and affumed this power (i. e. 3
negative on the church). But according to the principles
of ccngregationali'fm, the paftor befide being moderator of
church meetings, or prefident of the chriftian fraternity*
has but the authority of a private brother, in the rule and
government of the church. " By this time Mr. Adams
may fee that his fcheme of negativing is an innovation,
to overthrow and deftroy the ancient principles upon
which thefe churches (fettled.
But Mr. Adams tells about the rmnilter's confeience !
No body wants to infringe upon his confeience ; we are aa
willing he ihould have his Jileitt ncn-confent, as well as a
private brother ; or if he has a mind to exprefs his non»
confent, we won't quarrel with him about that neither.
But he fays " there are fome votes cannot be carried into
execution but by their means, and therefore they may be
obliged to go directly repugnant to the dictates of their
own confeiences." But pray what mighty things has the
minifler to do, refpecting tke votes of the church, that fa
infringe upon his confeience ? He as moderator, mnffc
colled! the votes of the church ; and he as moderator or
paftor, may atteft fuch to be the votefi of the church ; it
•an't hurt his confeience to declare and attefl: the truth.
Suppofe it is to cenfurc a member which he thinks not
guilty, or at leaft not equal to what the church lay upon
him ; can't he declare that to be the mind of the church ?
If we confider the epiftlcs to the Corinthians, we fnall find
that cenfures are the work of the church. The cenfurc of
the mceftuoqs. perfon > was a punijhmtnt inf.iSed if ' mcry*
( 4* )
2 Cor. II. r. which no doubt meant the body of the
church. And can't the tninifter declare this punimment
of many when that is the truth, without militating againft
his own confcience ? O ! Mr. Adams fays, page 78, " if
they vote he mall preach herefy, he muft comply ; — their
fovereign mandates muft be inftantly obeyed, whether juft
or unjult." This he pretends -will be the cafe upon
my fcheme. Bat this is materially falfe, in two refpects,
to pretend this from what I wrote. For, to pretend that
a vote of the people, when contrary to the mind of the
minifler, muft be inftantly put in execution, is well known
to be falfe, to all fuch as have carefully read my former
Treatife ; there I fpecially fpeak about fufpending the af-
fairs in fuch cafe. So alfojto pretend that upon my fchettie,
if the people fhould vote the miniftex fhould preach herefy r
he muft comply is falfe ; for this would be making a la*w%
and I utterly denied any fuch power belonging to the
church, and faid that if they ivere to make laws, he ought*
to have a negative, or fome <way to be freed from being fub-
jeSl to laivs he in no fenfe cotifented to. But Mr. Adams
%'s Pa£e 8°» that churches are legiflative bodies ; and
mentions in particular that they may make ordinances as
to time and place. I can't tell what he means by this, un-
lefs he fuppofes that the church, provided the minifler
concur, may alter the fabbath, or fix the meeting-houfe ;
them feem to be the main things as to time 2nd place, that
the church, as fuch, are concerned with ; as to time and
place of church meetings, the elderihip, whether fingle or
plural, generally determine that, and no body difputes it.
But Mr. Adams in his 78th page, fays minifters are
fenvards. Very well : and the church is the wife ; and
(zsjofepb told his. miftrefs) There is none greater in this houfe
than I, neither hath he kept back any thing from me, but
thee, becaufe thou art his wife, Gen. XXXIX. 9. Tho*
there be none greater in the houfe than thefeivard, as it
• ( 49 )
was with Jofepby who was Paipher's Jleivard ; yet the
wife is never committed into the hands of the fteward.
And fo- though there be none greater in the houfe of God
than the miniitcr, who is the Jleward ; yet the church,
the nxxfe, is not committed into his hands, but is Hill the
right and lawful proprietor and owner of all, in the ab-
fence of her Hufband ; and is dill properly in fuch relati-
on to the Reward, that ihe has a right to difpiace him up-
on his delinquency ; and if a church mould invite a mi-
nifter to commit unlawful a£ls with her, and he fhould re-
fufe as Jofepb did his miftrefs, and they fhould turn
him away for it, as fhe did, calling in other fervants to
aflift in her horrid plan : I fay, though any church fhould
turn away a faithful Jtexvard as ihe did, and as (he did get
other fervants to help ; yet there is no doubt with me, but
God would own and honor fuch faithful minifter, and a
fpecial inilance of this kind has been in this country in
my day, within the compafs of my knowle dge.
Mr. Adams page 81ft, afks what the difference is be-
tween a legijlati-ve and executive body ? This I have told
before, I fuppofe to the fatisfaction of ail, except Mr. Adams
and his difcerning fe-iv.
In the fame page to make out that minifters have a
right to negative the votes of the church in comparifon
with civil courts, he adduces (as f fuppofe it muft be) the
cafe of Richard/on, in wh.ich the court fufpended giving
fentence for a long time, to the general difTatisfaclion of
the people, not only in this province* but likely through-
out America, fo far as it was known. And whether the
court had a right to do that or not, I mail not pretend to
fay. However I think it was a precedent that cannot give
us any better relifa for his fcheme, which he would build
, upon it : And abundantly mews that he is upon the high
tory fide of the question, in civil, as well ecclefiaftical ■
affairs.
G
( 50 }
In the fame page he fpeaks of a minifter's marrying any
that according to law he ought not : That if he does, it
is at his peril. Though there are many cafes wherein it
is unlawful for perfon.s to marry ; yet I fuppofe that thefe
two general points are to be obferved. Firjl, that the
perfons are publifhed according to law. Secondly, that one
or both the parties were publifhed in his own town : Some
particular infbmces excepted. And if he breaks over them
rules, he does it at his peril. And I wilh it were as peri-
lous for miriifters to lead churches to act upon things not
published, or properly notified, fo that the church may know
what and when they are to act upon any affairs ; or for
minifters to pretend to negative votes of the church out of
his own town. If thefe things had been as perilous a3
marrying without publiihing, &c. it is not likely we
mould have had a certain church lead to vote noncommu-
nion with Bolton church on a day, previous to the day
publickly prefixed to confider and aft upon their letter.
Nor a certain minifter of another town undertake to nega-
tive the votes of Bolton church.
OF THE KEYS.
Mr. Adams in his 33d page begins upon the keys. But
I dont rind that he has undertook to confute any thing in
particular, I faid upon that, only that obout the XVIth
of Mat. As to this he entirely difapproves of the argumen-
turn ad ' hominem, I brought to prove that we mufc interpret
that in the XVIth of Mat. in confiftency with the XVIII.
Mr. Adams feems very confident they were given to Peter,
This is the very text that the Pope builds upen, that he
is Peter's fuccefibr, and fo he certainly has the keys. Mr.
Adams is following of him as fa ft as he can, we may fee
by his whole fchems ; however he feems willing at prefent,
to go halves with the brotherhood, and allow they were given
to them in the XVIIIth. This to be fure is a fair mew ;
and the brotherhood will no doubt be thought very unge-
- ( 5» )
serous, if they will not allow him half, when the Pope has
the whole.
However I fhall fay fomething to (hew, that the keys
were not given to Peter in the XVIth of Mat. And if I
can make that appear to the fatisfoclion of the public, I
tfhall tumble Mr. Adams out of the holy chair.
Mr. Adams might with as much juflice have pretended
that the perfon of Peter, was the rock on which Chriti
would build his church, as to pretend that Chrift gave the
keys to the perfon of Peter ; for thus Chrift begins in the
1 8th verfe, And I fay unto thee that thou art Peter, and
upon this rock / will build my church, verfe 19th. And I
-■will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, Sec.
Now Peter fignifying a rock, for Chrift then to fay thou
art a rock, and upon this rock I will build my church,
muft give as much, and more grounds to argue that the
perfon of Peter was the rock on which Chrift would build
his church ; than that he gave the keys to Peter ; for what
is faid about the rock, is fpoken in the prefent tenfe. Thou
art Peter, But that of the keys, in the future tenfe, j ivzU
give, Sec. And take it fo that the perfon of Peter is the
rock, -upon which Chrift builds his church, and the keys
given to him, and then we have at once Peter mounted in
the holy chair, and Mr. Adams in his hip ; at leaft upon
one knee, while he pretends to allow the church the other.
But as this conftrucYion will nor do, we muft look for
one more, confident with the general fcheme of the gofpel,
and the reafon of things.
It is the opinion of fundry authors, in all reipe&s his
Superiors, that the rock on which Chrift in this place, fays
he will build his church, was the confefllon Peter m.-ide.,
viz. Thou art the Cbrifi, the Son of the living God, Not
is Peter a rock, becaufe he had confefTed it ; for a rcck
h fomething permanent and liable, which can never be
moved, but Peter was unliable, after all this profrfTion,,
( 52 )
he denied Chrift entirely, that he knew him, or any thing
about him.
But this truth, that J ejus is the Chrift the Son of the
living God, is as permanent, liable and unfaaken as God
himfelf ; and therefore the rock on which the church
ihould be built ; far pcrfons believing, profcffing and u-
uiting in that truth, become Chrifc's church, impregnable
by hell it felf. But to take it in the fenfc that thefc
things were fpoken of the perfon of Peter, has made the
moil liorried hell gates that ever ware upon earth.
Take it in this {enfc that it was that tr.uth which Peter
confefTed ; this rock was already fixed, and pointed at by
Chrift, and therefore fpeaks of the rock in the prefent
tenfe, as now in Being ; and as Peter had juft been con-
fefling of it, he directs to him, what he determined con-
cerning that confeilion, that the church fruuld be built
upon it, and fhould have the keys ; for although he fays,
/ "Mill give the keys to thee ; yet it muft mean, to all thofe
that mould make the fame confeffion, that Peter had, a
thing in common tp them all ; or elfe Peter is mounted
directly into the holy chair, and all other chriftians, apof-
tles and all, are his humble fervants : for it can no
more be extended to the other apoftles, than to all other
chriftians whatever. The word THEE, thus fpoken to
Peter in the fmgular number, could no more contain An-
drew and James and Phillip, Sec. his fellow difciples,than
all other chriitians of their day, which mould believe and
make the fame confeilion he did. Nor could it any more
contain Zaidiel, and Timothy, and Ebenezer, of the prefent •
clergy, than Samuel and Ephraim and Nathaniel of the
laity. So that it muft mean what Chriit would give to
that church he had been fpeaking of, when built, or k
m^ans nothing at all to us ; Peter had the promife of the
keys to him, and it's likely he had what was promifed
him, and we have nothing to do about It.
( S3 )
But we m&y obferve, that the keys Were not actually gi-
ven to Peter, nor any body elfe in this XVIth chapter of
Matt, but / wilt give, referring to fomething he would
40 afterward, which brings us to the XVII Ith for the in-
terpretation, as the fulfilment of his promife in the XVIth,
'and as we find the apoftles always practicing accordingly,
in their epiftlcs treating matters upon the plau of the
power or keys being in the church, and Chrit in his e-
piftles to the feven churches, as I briefly considered before,
which Mr. Adams has not pretended ro difprove ; there-
fore we may fairly conclude, that what was faid in the
XVIth of Matt, was upon the plan of the keys being gi-
ven the church.
However, that Mr. Adams may fee that I am not alone
in this extraordinary expofition, I will juli quote a pafTage
out of Mr. Davenport before mentioned, that Mr. Adams
may have the pleasure of pointing the public finger at fome
as much contrary to him as the Neighbour.
Mr. Davenport, page 36, fpeaking of the XVIth of
Matthew fays, " In verfe 19 he giveth unto Peter upon
occafion of his public confeffron,in the name of the church,
a promife of the keys of the kingdom cf heaven. Therefore
this promife is given to the church in Peter. — The power
itfelf of the keys, is here originally and primarily com-
mitted to the church in general, exitHng in particular chur-
ches. I might produce fundry writers, both ancient nnd
modern, of other countries, and our own, if need requir-
ed, to confirm this expofition." He goes on for two or
three pages, to enumerate feveral authors, and fome that
had been put to death for holding to this expofition of the
text, and quotes fome authors as far back as Anno 200,
250, and 400. And in his 88th page fays, " fo that this
is no new, or fngalftr expofition of -thefe words, or
practice taken up by fome few of late." Thus I trial I
have for the prefent fufficiently fhcwn that the keys were
by Chrifl originally committed to the church.
( 54 )
Mr. Adams in his $6th page, highly threatens, as he
had before done in his fermon, that few or no minifters
will fettle upon any other plan than his ; or indeed even
give up their places before they will give ifp his fcheme.
But I hope none will be frigkted at this. The queftion is
not whether we can get minifters upon this or that plan ;
but what is the true fcriptural plan. And if we cannot
get minifters to fettle upon that, we had as good be with-
out them as with them.
I {hall now conclude this part of the work, by fetting
down a catalogue of fome of Mr. Adams's moft grofs In-
confiftenciesj and of things that appear to me Untruths, that
the reader may have a more fhojt and eafy view of them.
Firft — Ofhis Inconsistencies.
i ft. Mr. Adams in his 36th page fays that councils
have no juridical power. And yet his book is full of fay-
ing councils are judges, conftituted judges, &c.
2d. In the 54th page Councils have no coercive
power to enforce their judgments, determinations or re-
fults. And yet the fame page They are to withdraw
communion from the church that don't obey them — and
in the 56th page — the civil court mull enforce the refult,
or they fubvert the constitution.
3d. He fays if the brotherhood claims an cxclufive
right of judging and condemning their own elders, it de-
stroys the conftitution, page 57. And yet page 4.3 and 47
. — Every individual church has an exclufi've right and pow-
er to call, difmifs or depofe it's officers ; is the fountain
of all ecclefiaftiea! power ; has full and fufficient power to
do every thing neceflary to it's prefervation. This iaft he
mentions indeed as from the platform, and as his own
fentiments. But I mult obferve one query here.
Query. If churches have fuch an exclufive right as
he tells of : Pray why dont it exclude councils from being
fuch judges as he tells of ? ! !
( 55 )
4th. He fays Bolton church knew that the neigh-
bouring minifters and churches were, or ought to be out
of charity with them, that they had the ftrongeft reafon in
the world to conclude fo, page 63d. And yet that their
applying to thofe churches, was to difturb their peace, and
to fet them and their minifters at odds.
Query. If they knew both minifters and churches
were out of charity ; how could this fee them at odds ? ! J
5 th. He fays the weapons of councils are only fpirituai,
which therefore mull mean, that they are binding only on
the confcience, page 36. And yet page 5 2d, &c. — Con.
fcience mull not be bound by the refult, but the minifter
muil have his falary.
6th. He fays the people themfelves are the fole judges
whether the determinations of councils are fcriptural, page
54th. And yet the whole fcheme of this book and his
fermon too, is to blame Bolton people very highly for not
accepting the refults of councils.
Secondly — Of his Untruths.
ill. Speaking of Bolton people, page 30, fays, The
ftrongefl part, violently difpofTeiTed the others of the houfe
they ufed to congregate in. When I prefume they nevfir
kept one perfon out of the meeting- houfe, not even Mr,
Gofi himfelf.
2d. He fays that I fay, we are bound to follow and
continue with a multitude, whether it does well or ill,
page 31ft. B*jt I never faid any fuch thing.
3d. la faying page 37th, and other places that I de-
clared, that no man is interefted in any caufe unlefs he
wins or lofes money. When I never faid any fuch thing.
4th. In pretending page 41ft, that I endeavered to
make the public believe, that certain words he quoted out
of the Platform in his fermon, were merely his own.
When I declared that he quoted the words right ; and Mr.
Adams owns too, that I faid he quoted them right, S$
( 5* )
that here is an inconfiftency, as well as falacy, and there
are two or three more falacies about it down the fame page.
5th. In pretending page 44th, 'that the refults of
councils are never carried into effect, without the ac"l or
votes of the church. When he and the neighbouring mt-
nifters, have been fo ftrenuoufly carr)ing into effect the
Bolton refult againft the people there, not only without,
but agairrft the votes of that church, and their own churches
too. And the whole tenor of his book, is, that if a church
dont accept of a refult, other churches muft be out of cha-
rity or fellowfliip with it, &c. So that here again is an
inconfiftency as well as falacy.
6th. In pretending page 73d, that there is fcarcelyan
orderly church in this part of the world, will have any
thing to do with Boltm church. When there is fcarce a
church whofe minds have b~en fairly tried, but what have
fignified they were in charity with them.
7th. In his 6 1 ft page, fpeaking of mv 13^ pa^e, where
I had ouoted platform, chapter XV. $ 2d. He fay??, that
" All the platform favs in that chanter and fe&. is,
that churches exercife communion fundry ways.?
When there is full three pages in that fe&ion, in which
were words exprefsly to mv purpofe.
** Thus I have hinted fome of his moft grofs falacies, as
thev appear to me ; the reader will fee how far he was
from taking that care he promifed, to advance nothing
but what was ftricMy true.
Having thus as I truft deterged the moil of Mr. detains':
acrimony ^ I hope the wound may be in a good way to be
healed, after I have applied fome fuitable emollients and
proper bandages, which may be the fubjec"t of the 3d part
of this work ; to which I proceed*
< 57 )
PART III.
AS the powers of the church and people, with refpeft
to calling and difmi fling or depofmg their officers,
efpecially miniflers ; and the power of a church with re-
lation to their minifter, in their focial afts, are Co much
the fubjeft of debate, and the cardinal points in the pre-
fent controverfy,I mall offer a few words more diftinct
from any fpecial reply to Mr. Adamsh anfvver to my
former Treatife.
I ft. That the people, have from God, a plenary and
exclufive right and authority, to choofe and difmifs or
ilepofe their own officers.
I (hall endeavor to confirm this from God's word, by
proving the following pofition, viz.
That God ever owned people in their choojing and depojing
their <Kvn officers.
GOD made man a rational creature, and treats him as
fuch ; and though man has fallen and loft the moral imare
of God ; yet God has referved to the man, the powers
of reafon and underftanding, to direct and govern himfelf,
as to the things of this world, and to chriftians, the influ-
ences of his fpirit, by his word, to guide them as to the
things of the other world : And whether we confider them
as men, or as chriftians, each one has the gift of God,
whereby in the proper exercife of it, he is capable of
choofing for himfelf, ho other being dignified or impow-
ered to choofe for him. And even God himfelf having
•onfered thofe gifts upon man, does not interpofe fo as to
take away the liberty or freedom of the man ; and par-,
ticularly this point of choofing and depoiing officers, is by
God in his word, treated moft tenderly.
Accordingly in the ftate of Ifrael which is univerfally
called a Theocracy, vi?,. God the King. The officers
were chofen by the people.
H
t 5* )
This was the fenfe, that God and Mo/es treated the
Affair, when God at firft fet up the Theocratical govern-
ment over them, in appointing Mo/es for their captain and
leader. In the Hid chapter of Exod. God tells Mo/es what
he mould fay unto the people, and in the 18th verfe fays,
They Jhall hearken to thy voice. Mo/es in the ! ft verfe o
the next chapter fcruples whether they would. Then God
tells him what he" mould do before them, to make them
believe and hearken ; and finally in the 3 1 ft verfe,we find
the people believed. Here we find God firft nominated
Mo/es for the chief officer of his people ; and fends him
to the peopIe,for their election, i.e. to believe and hearken*
which amounts to the fame thing ; God indeed fays, they
/half choo/e or hearken. But then it was by means, and
evidence fet before them, which God was able to do, fo
as to induce them freely to choofe Mo/es as their captain,
or chief officer > they were not to be compelled by military
force, or by plagues to be fent upon them, to enforce them
to accept of Mo/es ; yea though God appointed him him-
felf, and it was by the moft immediate and exprefs ordi-
nance of God ; yet there was no fcheme in it to leave the
people in a ftate of independency, as Mr. Adams tells of,
if they do not accept the refult of councils, this was not
God's way. If he had ordered Mo/es to go and tell the
people (o and fo, and if they won't hearken to you, then
leave them, and I will fend my plagues upon them inftead
of Egypt ; Mr.Jdams's fcheme would have had fomething
like a precedent. But far from that > light, evidence and
means were to -be fet before them, till they voluntarily
choofe, and then after that, Mo/es, as the chief officer of
I/rael went to Pharoah to negotiare their departure, &c.
Upon the fame plan we find Mo/es went on, for when
he went to put in fubordinate officers, he put it to the
people to choofe them. See Deut. I. 13. Take ye ivi/e men
and under/landing and kno-wn among your tribes. This is
( 59 )
loo plain that they were to be chofen by the people, to
admit of any comment to illuftrate it. The fame might
be obferved in many instances, or fairly argued ; but I
fhall only touch upon fome that are moll plain. We may
obferve, that when Ifrael came to have kings over them,
they came in by the fuffrage of the people. Thus Saul,
though he was anointed by the fpecial direction of God,
yet he did not take or meddle with the kingdom till he
had the fuffrage of the people. J Sam. X. 24, And all
the people Jbouted and /aid, , God fa<ve the king. There was
a free fuffrage or choice. But there were fome out-fland-
ing, which, with the victory they gained, occafioned their
renewing the kingdom, in the fame, or a more explicit
m anner, by the fuffrage or choice of the people, chapter
XI. 15. All tht people tuent te Gilgal, and there they
made Saul king before the Lord. His being before the
Lord, fhews that God owned them, in their doing of it.
Next we may obferve concerning David, he was anointed
king by God's fpecial direction many years before he
reigned ; and he never did reign at all, till he was made
king by the people. See 2 Sam. II. 4. The men ofjudah
anointed David king over the houfe ofjudah. Chapter V. .
I and 3. All the tribes of Ifrael came to Davtd^-and
they anointed David king over Ifrael. Here we may fee,
the right and power of depofing, as well as electing,
judging and executing : for in this they depofed the houfe
of Saul, which they had before repeatedly chofe. And I
fuppofe no body will difpute, but God owned the people
in this revolution. We have alfo a very explicit account
of the fame in 1 Chron. Xlth and Xlhh chapters.
The Home might be obferved both of election and de-
pofition, as to the affair of Reboboam. And this Mr. Adams
himfelf has adduced as a right in the people to depofe \
but then he feems to fugged it, as though it was becaufe.
they had a council, and Reboboam would not hearken to
that, and therefore the peopie had a right.
( 6o )
/
But then Mr. Adams mould have remembered, the
council he fpeaks of, which Rehoboam for Took, were fome
of the aged leading men of his own people, and he did
follow the advice of a council of fuch as were brought up
with him, likely fome that were in college with him,
and I finpe&Mr.G<7/?s misfortune happened the fame way.
For there is no doubt with me, but that if Mr. Go/} would
have been advifed by fome of the old leading men among
his own people, inftead of following the counfel of thofe
that were brought up with him, and perhaps fome youn-
ger, he might have continued quiet and comfortable in
the miniftry there to this day. We may juft obferve,
that many of the revolutions of the kings of Ifrael, fairly
hold forth the point we are upon. Jezebel upbraided Jehu
with acting unconstitutionally, as Mr. Adams does- Bolton ;
and fhe compares him to Zimri. But fhe was wrong about
that ; for Jehu was chofe by the fuffrage of the people,
and Zimri was not ; he ufurped,and the people chofe Omri
Jcing, and he coming in constitutionally, might have con-
tinued, and his poilerity time out of mind, for ought ap-
pears, if it had not been for their fins, after they were
promoted.
We may now obferve briefly, that the apoflles pradtifed
putting in officers by election. I. An apoille. II. Deacons
III. Elders. That in Atts XIV. 23d, fpeaking of Ordaining
ilders in every church by the bed criticks, ought to have
Deen translated, When they had ivith lifting up of hands,
Khofen elders in every church. I do not n member any par-
ticular account we have in the new Ceftament, of depo-
fing any church officers, except that in the lid chapter of
Rev- where Chrifl: fpeaking to the church of Ephefus
commends them, that they could not bear them which are
evil ; and had tried them which fay they are apoflles,
and are not, and had found them liars. For though it
docs not exprefsly fay they had depofed them, or turned
them away ; yet we mull rationally fuppofe ihey did :
( 6i )
For it would have been nothing commendable to havfc
found them liars, and kept them after that. ; but really
worfe, and then it fays they could not bear them. But
he have no account of any mutual council they had to. try
them : The church tried them themfelves, and fourlti
them guilty ; fo that here we may fee Chrift approves of
the churches judging delinquent elders or church officers,
though Mr. Adams does not.
And upon the whole, I truft it fufficiently appears, that
through the whole of the fcriptures, both old-teftament
ana new, that God approves of, and owns his people in
their exercifmg this authority of choofing and removing
their own officers, both in church and ftate. To this
purpofe Mr. Turner in his election fermon the prefent year
fays, " That fervants of the public mould not be refpon-
fible to the public, is popery, either in religion or poli-
ticks," page 30. And it may be worthy of remark, that
God in his providence, fo far as hiftory and our own ob-
fervation will ferve us, always has fpecially owned a peo-
ple in the exercife of that fr -ver and privilege ; enlarge-
ing, encreafing and enriching of them. But when their
rulers become tyrannical, and the people neglect or
fupinely loofe their privilege*,, every thing goes to decay,
is and foon fucceeded with very great, if not utter deftruc*
tion. Witnefs many things in our own nation as well as
others. Therefore it appears both by God's word an<3
providences, that the power and authority of ehcUng ami
removing all officers, ought to be folely in the people, for
whom they are made, without any embarrafment v/hatfo-
ever.
zdly. I mall fay fomething as to the churches power
with relation to their minifter in their fecial acts.
This is fpecially as to the negative po-v'er which Mr.
Adams is fo tenacious of. I intended to have faid fome-
thing * particularly from fcripture, mewing that on fuel*
< 62 )
power does or can belong to the minifter. But as I am
in hafte on my journey, and as I have fufficiently anfwer-
ed what Mr. Adams pretended to bring from fcripture,
and fhevvn that it is nothing tc his purpofe, I mall omit
that for the prefent ; and only obferve, That the very
practice of minifters and churches, confounds their having
a negative upon the church.
For minifters, or if they bave ruling elders along with
them, to have a negative upon the brotherhood, they muft
be a diftinct branch, and aft in diltinct and feparate bodies
or branches, and then the minifter or elderfhip cannot
have the moderatormip of the brotherhood, according to
any acting bodies whatfoever ; nor according to reafon
and the nature of things. The king is not prefident or
moderator of the houfe of Lords ; nor the governor of this
province prefident of the council, in legiflative proceed-
ings, where he is a diftinct branch. But the governor in
Connecticut not being a diftinct branch, is'* always prefi-
dent, or as moderator of the council. But in no body,
formed for action that I know of, is there a negative at
the head of it. The prefident of the council, the fpeaker
of the houfe, the moderator of meetings, town or parifh,
do not have' a negative, nor any thing like it ; and for a
focial body for action to have fuch a negative at the head
of it, to me looks as abfurd, incompatible and ridiculous,
as it would be to fee a natural body with it's bead on, face
backward ; that would be a proper negative head, and
when the body a {fayed to move or act, the head would
tend tother way,and deftroy all action. They would have
a mutual check upon each other, as Mr. Adams tells of ;
and it would be a wonderful creature indeed ; juft fuch
kind of creatures are thofe churches whofe minifters are
negativers, and at the fame time moderators. But mode-
rators of focial bodies are to keep orders, to collect and
declare the acts of the body, and are necefiarily of the
fame unmixed body, and muft move wLh the bodjv or
( 63 )
the a<?U of the body can never be effected or obtained.
Therefore for minifcers to be moderators of church meet-
ings, is incompatible with, and confounds the very notion
of their having a negative.
I mall now add a few words of confolation to my patient +
and then conclude.
Although fuch wounds are very grievous and hard to
bear ; yet I hope it will work for your good, and that by
this means you will be prevented purfuing your journey
from Jerufalem to Jericho, that accurfed city, whofe walls
have once been thrown down by the founding of the gof.
pel trumpets ; but has been built again by Hiel the Bethelite%
fee i King. XVI. 34. Hiel fignifies God lives, or the life
of God, and Bethel, the houfe of God ; fo that in fhort Hiel
the Bethelite, is one of a facred name and habitation, who
has laid the fonndation in Abiram his firft born, which by
interpretation is, a high father, or father of fraud ; and
has fet up the gates thereof, in his youngeft fon Seguh,
which means fortified or raifed. I fcarce need to add any
more to make it moll plain and familiar, that the rebuilding
of Jericho, the accurfed city,with the names of the builder,
the foundation and gates, appear eminently to point forth,
the building up of ecclefiaftical tyranny. For that tyran-
ny, has ever more been built up, by fuch as have fuftained
facred names, poflefling the moft important places in the
houfe of God, which according to interpretation is Hiel
the Bethelite, And the foundation of that tyranny confiftsf
in the elders or fathers of the church exalting themfelves
fc'gh, and becoming high fathers, by fraud, guile and
cozening the church out of her rights ; which according
to interpretation is Abiram. And the gates are fet ur>in
Segub ; for when they have thus fortified or raifed them-
felves, none may go in or out but by them, either the
miniftry or church ; they fet themfelves up to be the
gates or the doors of the church ; claiming a negative on
all church a&s, and pretending to flop any from preach-
( <H )
rng the pofpel, where they have taken an affront, and
think proper to fhut the gates, or rather fix themfelves,
as the gates fhut againft any ones going in to preach, or
the people going out, to partake of gofpel ordinances, as
you may fee in Mr. Gofs's Narrative, one gate of four
rails, and feveral more tucked under page 23d ; another
gate of feven rails, page 25th, all which mightily anfwer*
to the interpretation of Segub.
Thus my patient, you have the accurfedcity Jericho, to
which you was going, defcribed to you, it's builder •, foun-
dation and gates. I hope you will take the hint, and re-
turn back to the city Jerufalem, which by the intepretati-
on, is the city of peace where God is feen ; whofe edifcer,
foundation and gates, are grace, truth and liberty ; whofe
king is righteoufnefs ; whofe laws are love, and whole
inhabitants are happy. And my earned defire, prayer,
and hope is, that we mail meet in the Ne-w-Jerufalem
above, which isfree,and is mother of all true fons of liberty.
You are fenfible I have omitted many things which I
intended to have done ; a»d there were many more which
I- have not hinted at above, which I muft omit, having
been detained fo long, with cleanfing away Mr. Adams's.
Mcrimony. I muft now pafs on my journey homeward ; but
I determine (if providence permit) tovifit you again ; I
have a eonfiderable patrimony, of which you fee I have
expended fome already for you ; and I will not fpare t©
difburfl, even of that or my own earnings, to the intertf
you mav be throughly healed.
( 65 )
APPENDIX.
AFTER I had paffed en my journey, I lit on a book
intided, " OBSERVATIONS upon the congrega-
gational plan of CHURCH GOVERNMENT, &c —
pretended to be " unanimoufly offered to the consideration
of the CHURCHES, by the Convention of the Mi-
nisters of the province of the Majachufetts-Bay, at
their annuaf meeting in Bojlon, May 26, 1773 : and
continued by adjournment to July 23d.
This piece is evidently defigned to efpoufe the fame
caufe that Mr. Adams has, and no doubt occasioned by
the fame affair, viz. Bolton proceedings. If this then
mould be confidered, a fungous, or proud flefli, rifen up
round the fore, it will require the application of cauftick
and abftergent remedies, to purge away fuch rifings as
obftrutt the healing of the wound. Be it what it will, it
was no doubt thought, that the name of the Convention,
would add weight to the performance. Mr. Adams com-
plains very bitterly of me, for not affixing my name to
my Treatift ; and behold, here is a piece, upon the fame
caufe he has fo flrenuoufly efpoufed, and no name, it pre-
tends indeed to be by a certain body of men ; even the
whole body of the minijlers, of the Majfachufetts province.
But I can't light on one minifler of that province that
will own he was there. I fuppofe there are between three
and four hundred minifters of that province, and by all
I can learn, there were but about fifty perfons prefent
when this remarkable production took birth ; and they
not unanimous as pretended neither. But obferve, here
is a pretended production of a body of men, and no mo-
derator*
I
( 66 )
t fuppofe it Is an unvariable rule, that when any vote,
refalt or production, proceeds from a body of men, it is
at leaft attefted or figned by the head, chairman, fpeaker,
clerk or moderator of fuch body. But here is not fo much
as a moderator. Why truely it is likely there was no
moderator ; it was no moderate piece of work they were
about. I can think of nothing, who or what fet of men
they were, unlefs the thieves that flript, plundered and
wounded the man in the parable ; and thirves I fuppofe
do not have a moderator. So then, we have found out the
myltery of there being no moderator. And if we confider
two things, we ihall find, that this was truely the cafe ;
they were upon the buiinefs of plundering the churches
of their rights, liberties and privileges ; and flole the
. name of the whole body of minifters in the province, to
give weight to what they did.
But where were thefe LIBERTY plunderers r* Why
they fay, at BOSTON 1! Is BOSTON, that metropolis
of LIBERTY, that fir ft momentum of LIBERTY, for
this many years paft, become a den of LIBERTY plun-
derers ? ! O BOSTON, will you exert yourfelves fo againft
m-n-ftry, p-rl-m-at, g-v-rn-rs, &c. for your civil liberties ;
and yet fuffer your religious liberties, which folely moved
your fathers to come over into this land-; will you fuffer
that molt facred birthright to be facked by thofe in your
own bowels ? I hope better things of you, and that e'er
this time, you have fen: a hue and cry after them ; fome-
thing muft be done ; if the churches do not roufc up and
proteft againft it, in lefs than half a century, it will be
urged as of great authority ; as being a fundamental book
of the conftirution. Without any prophetical fpirit, I
eafily perceive, that in lefs than forty, nay thirty years
(if there is nothing done) that convention pamphlet will
be drawn into authority thus : " There were our fathers
of that fentiment, they viewed the conftitution in that
( 67 )
light ; nay however it might be fome what doubtful, and
uncertain before that day ; yet it was fairly eftablifhed
then ; for there were the whole body of minifers of the
province, unanimoujly offered it to the conftderatien of the
CHURCHES, and there was no objection againft it ; the
churches acquiefced in it, at leail it was z. f .lent ial vote > and
it appears by the book it felf, there were at that time
great difputes about them things, and whatever they were,
yet all minifters and churches coalsf:ed in this, if it had
not been agreable to the mind of the churches, furely they
would have faid fome thing againft it : But nothing did
the churches do againfl it, and therefore for any one to
rife up againft it now, fo many years after, he makes
himfelf wifer than all the fathers, both minifter and
people : Nay for any church now to break over that rule,
me is fchifmatical, and departs from the God of her
fathers."
Extract from the debates in council in the year 1799.
And will, you,0 ye Churches of Nevj-Eng/and^Yie ilill
and fufFer things to go on fo ? O temporal 0 meres /Senates
haec intelligit, conful vidtt ; hie tamen vivit, vivit ? I mo
verb etiam in fenatum rvenit : fit public i concilii particeps ;
not at tif dejignat oculis ad caedem unumjuemjue nnftriim.
Nos autem viri fortes fatisfacere reipublicae-, videmurji iftiu:
furorem ac tela vitemus. Ad mortem te, Caiilina, duci
juffu confulis jampridem oportehat : in te conferri pejlem
ijlam, quam in nos omnes jamdiu ?nachinaris. Non deejf
reipublica? confilium, neque auclorita: hujus ordinij : nos^
7tost dico aperte confutes defumus. TuL Cic. in Catahnam I.
I fhill take the liberty, to give the above a free tranf-
lation, adapted to the prefent affair. In which Cat aline,
as he was faid to have contrived the overthrow of tha
flate, m.iy be tranflated the pamphlet ; the fenate, eccie-
fiifticil councils j the confnls, the churches,
, 68 )
And then the tnnflation will ftand thus :
Alas the times, what pafs things are got to ! The
councils perceive, and the churches fee it ; and yet it lives,
tfives did I fay ? Nay indeed it comes into our public
councils, and has a fhare in their decifions : it marks out
every one of us (at lead our liberties) to the flaughter.
And yet we brave men (who have fo long been refolving
upon liberty) flatter ourfelves, that we do our duty to the
public (and pofterity) if we can efcape it's fury and Wea-
pons. You ought, O pamphlet ,long fince to have been put
to death by the order of the churches j to bring upon
you that vengeance which' you have fo long been meditat-
ing againft us all. There is no want in the conftitu-
tion, no want of authority and power in the churches.
We, we, I fpeak it to our fhame, we churches are want-
ing. Wanting in doing our duty and beftiring ourfelves j
I fpeak in behalf of the churches, ia imitation of Cicero,
and as he did, to flir up the churches to look about them
to fee what their rights, liberties and privileges are, to
aflert and maintain them againft all invafions ; and hand
them down inviolate to pofterity.
But perhaps it will be expected that I fay fomething
by way of confutation of this extraordinary production.
But I truft that what I have faid in reply to Mr. Adams
may ferve as an anfwer, or remarks upon this, it being
really no more than faying his words over after him ; fave-
ing only that it pretends to adduce the fathers to vindicate
it. But I have hinted fomething from them, which may
(hew that the fathers are really on my fide, and I could
offer much more from them to the fame purpofe if need
required. But I have I truft fhewn, f the fatisfaction of
the public, from the word of God, that the right and
power of choofing and depofing officers, lies with the
people, which muft be received, let the fathers be as they
will. However, if I fhould have occasion to write again,
the j>ub!l: (hall hear farther from the fathers.
( % )
I will juft make one remark and conclude.
Mr. Adams and the pamphlet lay great ftrefs upon the
parenthefis in the 6th fection of the ioth chapter of the
platform ; where fpeaking of the power of the church to
remove incorrigible elders, fays, " as the church had
power to call to ofHce, fo they have power according to
order (the council of other churches where it may
be had, directing thereto) to remove him from his
office," &c. The pamphlet has the impudence to put
the parenthefis, and two or three words before it, in a
different character, as if there were fome fpecial flrefs to
be laid upon them words above all the reft. But this there
was no authority from the fathers to do, which every one
may fee, by looking into the platform, and if it tries to
cheat fo, in that which is ill aim oil every ones power to
detect; how much more, may we reafonably fufpect
them in their quotations from the fathers,which few have
the opportunity to fee.
Upon the whole, Mr. Adams and the pamphlet are fo
fet upon the parenthefis, we may go according to the ex-
prefs letter of that, and I guefs it won't pleafe them any
better than what Bolton have done. Obferve the words
are, " (the council of other churches,5' &c.) not a council
of minijlers, nor minijlers and churches ; and to reckon
minijlers and churches, difKnct branches one from another,
as Mr. Adams and thofe upon his plan do. The
council of ether churches mentioned in the platform, can-
not have any minijlers in it j and tha thing is eaiiiy
enough effe&ed, let them vary the letters ?nijfive a. little
from the common form, in(tead of defiring the prefence
and ajjijlance of the church by their Rev. elder, and fuch
9ther mtffengers as they Jh all think prefer, &c Let it be
worded thus, " We defire your prefence and abidance, by
fuch mefiengers as you fhall think proper to fend." This
}Ar. Wife has mewn is according to the churches right i
( 7° )
and if the church don't think proper to fend the minifter
he will have no right in council ; but be it as it will, as
to what Mr. Wife fays ; according to the notion of th*
minifters being a diftinft branch from the church, he has
no right to be in the council, claimed by the parenthefis ;
for that is to be a council of CHURCHES ; and this I
haveno doubt would many times morelikely dojuftice,than
fuch as are convened ; and if the minifter won't join to
call fuch a council, then the council of ether churches can't
he had, and the church are clear according to tne fcheme,
and efpecially according to Mr. Adams ; fee his fermon,
page 35th. If the minifter refufes to join , then may they
difmifs him without a council.
However, though I think this might mend the matter,
I am not for having the church hampered, or embarrefled,
even with fuch a council as that ; but that the church
mould ft ill be left free to aft, as me mail find to be duty,
notwithftanding any council whatever. And upon them
terms, I would have churches upon all important affairs,
fend for council, fuch as they (hall judge are moft JiJ$;e,Iy
to underftand and difpoied to help them. And when they
have done, follow their advice fo far as they can with a
good confeience ; or as far as they find it agreable to the
word of God j and this is agreable to what I faid in my
former Treatifs. Thus I fuppofe I have wiote fufEcientJy
for the prefent : And being alfo in hafte, I fubferibe
rnyfelf a well-wiQier to all, both minifters and people, and
their hearty friend,
A NEIGHBOUR
Augufi 12U), 1773
( 7* )
TESTIMONIES.
WHEREAS Mr. Gofs has publiflied a Narrative in
anfwer to the Neighbour's Narrative, in which Mr.
Gofs has advanced many things not genuine. We there-
fore publifh the following Teftimonies, that the public
may have a view of the true (late of fome things wherein
Mr. Gofsh Narrative is erroneous.
In the beginning of Mr. G^/f'sNarrative, he denies that
he " infilled on his innocence, before both the church
and council."
WE the fubfcribers well remember, and are ready tp
give oath (if called to it) that we heard Mr. Gofs declars
in the church meeting, " That he never had drank to that
degree, fo as in ar.y *ivay to affzEl or hurt his reafon, fpeecb
or limbs ;" and alfo heard him fay the fame at other times.
Ephraim Fairbank,
Bolton, Aug, Euakim Atherton.
3d* "773-
And as to his infixing on his innocence before the cou* .
ell for the proof thereof, we appeal to fome that were mem-
bers of that council, and other gentlemen that were pre-
lent as fpe&ators, Co me of whom we have heard fay, they
were ready to teftify to the truth of it, if required.
As to Mr. Gofs's denying, that he read his declaration
intermixed with his ferraon, page 7 : We the fubfcribers
teftlfy, and are ready to give oath, that we well remem-
ber that Mr. Gofs delivered faid declaration after he
had read his text, and made an introduction to his
fermon ; and we have heard many others fay they
remember the fame ; and it was fo interwoven into
his fermon, that fome who had before heard
( 72 )
faid declaration, and fome who had not before
heard it, we have heard declare they did not miftruft in the
time of it, that any fuch thing had been offered.
Nathaniel Longley,
Bolton, Jug. Samuel Jones.
3d, 1773-
As to what Mr. Go/s fays page 8th, to exculpate him-
felf for leaving a falfe copy of the declaration with the
deacon, the church at firft agreed to fettle with him. We
the fubferibers, members of the church in Bolton, hereby
declare, that we well remember, that the church agreed to
fettle with him upon condition that he would read faid de-
claration to the congregation the next Lord's day ; and
leave a copy of it with the oldeft deacon. But according
to Mr. Gofs's own account, he never did leave a copy of
it ; that Mr. Harrington drew what he did leave with
the deacon ; and that he knew when he left it, it was not
a true copy of what the church agreed to fettle with him
upon ; and therefore it appears by Mr. Go/s's own ac-
count, that he never has fettled with the church for
the very firft complaint againft him ; fince he never
has fulfilled the conditions agreed upon for a fettle-
iiient at that time. Nathaniel Longley,
Bolton, Aug. Ephraim Fairbank.
3^, 1773-
As to what Mr. Go/s fays in the laft paragraph of the
9th page, to make out that he had not fhewn a paper to
-the former council, which he promifed he would not ; he
owns that he had promifed, that he would not lay faid
paper before the firft council, and we the fubferibers well
remember, and can fafely give oath (if required) that we
heard Mr. Go/s fay, that faid firft council, judged faid
paper to be equal to his confelTion, made at that council ;
( 73 )
and we are very certain faid council could know nothing
about faid paper, unlefs he had fhewn it to them.
Robert Longley,
Bolton, Aug, x Paul Whetcomb.
3d» «773-
As to what Mr. Go/s fays, in the ioth page, about the
complaint which rofe up in view In the time of the fitting
of the f«cond council : That it was the third thing that
was offered, after Mr. Ephraim Fairbanks who was one
of the committee, for laying the complaints before the
council, had declared that all was given in. We the
fubfcribers remember that at faid council there was one
or two papers, offered to the council, for fupport of the
complaints after the complaints were given in. But faid pa-
pers were thrown out bythe council : Which was always
looked upon as a grievance. — And we would alfo obferve,
that though Mr. Go/s feems here to infmuate, as though
Mr. Fairbank had offered two or three complaints after he
had faid all complaints were given in ; yet Mr. Go/s him-
felf don't prefume to fay, this was the third complaint ;
but the third thing. Now there was but one complaint,
and that was verbally made againft Mr. Go/s, for making
a falfe declaration before faid council.
John Whetcomb,
Bolton , Aug. John Pierce.
3d> «773-
In the 1 1 th page Mr. Go/s infinuates as though I had
given under my hand two accounts of certain converfation^
materially different. I look upon fuch blind fuggeftions
of duplicity of conduct, without fhewing what the two
accounts are, which he pretends are fo different, highly
flanderous and reproachful, and I trull the public will
look upon fuch infinuations in their own nature falfe,
where the facts are not expreffed, fo that they may be
traverfed. John Whetcoms,
Bolton, Aug,
3d> l77h K
( 74 )
As to what Mr. Go/s fays, in the nth and 12th pages>
pretending to make out his veracity againft the complaint
of his difpenfing with his own promifes — by alledging
that his promife in that cafe was conditional : We the
fubfcribers know and well remember, that it appeared to
the church that Mr. Go/s's promife in that cafe, was ab/o-
lute, and that it could not biconditional as he pretends ; for
the paper was not in theColonePspower,which he pretcndi
he was to have a copy of, as a confederation for the copy
he promifed the Col. and the Col. was heard to tell Mr.
Go/s that he never promifed him any fuch thing ; nor
fhould he procure it for him. And we alfo know, that
the account of that affair, as it is in the Neighbour, page
5 th, is genuine ; which indeed Mr. Go/s himfelf has not
prefumed to deny. Nathaniel Longley,
BdtcTty Jug. Silas Bailey.
In the 13th page Mr. Go/s afferts, that he non-con-
curred certain votes of the church in the time of the meet-
ing, and that it was proved {o to the council.
We the fubfcribers teftify, that being prefent at all of
laid meetings, never knew of any fuch thing in the time
of the meetings ; nor can we learn that any one member
of the church ever did, or any one elfe : Neither had the
church any intimation of it, as we can learn, for above a
ont'i after the laft of faid meetings.
Robert Loncley,
Bolton, Aug. Silas Bailey.
3d> *773-
In the 14th page Mr. Go/ undertakes to give an ac*
count of three Church meetings ; the firft of which he fays
was appointed but for half a day-, and continued (o that
the mind of the church was taken once, if not oftner by
voices.
We the fubfcribers, being members of the church, and
prefsnt at all faid meetings, declare that we lyicw of no
( 75 )
vote put to be tried by voices ; and to be fure that there
was no vote pafled fo, or any other way the firft day. on-
ly to adjourn the meeting ; we have Mr. Gofs\ own word?
for it, a few lines onward, where, at the clofe of the 3d
and laft meeting, he fays, " during this time we had net
fettled one article, but really increa fed their number."
John Pierce,
Bolton Aug, Simon Whetcoris.
3<*, 1773.
As to what Mr. Go ft fays in the 16th page and onward
under his head of msafures taken to fir up frife : Parti-
cularly as to the protraction of terms for bringing in alle-
gations. It was purely out of tendernefs to Mr. Gcfs.
For after Mr. Gofs's pretended making fatisfa&ion, for
what appeared on communion day ; one of the congre-
gation, being dilfatisfed, openly declared, that Mr. Gofs
had been groggy ten times, for which Mr. Gofs talked of
taking him in the law. But the church tho't it would be
better for Mr. Gofs, to endeavour- to fettle thefe things
among ourfelves ; and fo all poflible forbearance was ufed,
that if by any means, things might not by haftinefs be done
to extremity.
And as to what he fays about the tewf's being called to-
gether, a committee chofe, zxi&QcA.Wbetcomb at the head
of it ; rdprefenting as tho' the Col. was unfriendly at that
time. There was indeed a part of the inhabitants of the
town came together, but not as a town-meeting, as Mr.
Gofs infmuates. But the bufinefs of that meeting was
purely out of concern for Mr. Gofs, and the diftatisfac^
tion prevailing againft him ; and the Col. then endea-
vouring to maintain Mr. Gofs character and (landing,
did what he could that all aggrievances fnould be brought,
that there might be a fettlement.
Mr. Go/} in the 18th page, begins a long account of
\yhlt ]je intttlcs meafures furfued for the continuance pf
i ?6 )
frifc, ...i.a is very far from being genuine, an d though
there are very many unjuft afperfions on the church and
town, and efpecially upon 'fome particular perfons who held
out long in favour of him, hoping that he was not incori-
gible, but at laft were conftrained to defert him or their
own conferences ; yet we mall not follow him in all his
particulars to contradi& him, where he deferves it, but
ihall give a fhort and juft account of mea/ures purfued by
Mr. Goj&, to make, continue and increafe difTatisfaction,
llrife and divifion.
The firft thing to make and continue difTatisfa£lion,
ftrife aud divifion, was Mr. Gift's reading his declaration
in fuch a promifcuous manner with his fermon.
2d. When he had promifed to leave a copy of it with
the deacon, he knowingly left a corrupt copy inftead of a
true one.
3d. When certain grievances were in confidcration a-
mong us, he ufing no condeicenfions, nor making any
reflections upon himfelf nor retraction.
4th. When matters were got to the extremity as to
fend out for the firft council, promifing before the church
that he would not put us to the trouble to prove the arti-
cles of charge againft him, that he would own two thirds
or three quarters of the articles of charge, and the next
day denying every one of them to the churches corr.-nittee.
c th. His neglecting and refilling to read his conftf-
;ion (which he came into at the firft council) to the con-
gregation.
6th. When much pains had been taken by the people
ro have things fettled, and it was promifed on the part of
the aggrieved, that if Mr. Go/s would own that he had
go'ne too far in felf-j unification or pleading innocence as to
intemperance, and read his confeffion to the congregation,
they would infcft upon nothing farther ; yet he inflead of
complying with it, fet to charging fome of the aggrieve I
with blafphemy, or things bordering upon it.
\ 77 )
7tn. rtis cnallenging aright to difpenfe with hispromife.
Sth. His diflblving the church meeting when him felf
fays there was not one article fettled.
9th. His refufing to call one again when requefted :
but inftead of calling a church meeting, he in February \
1 77 1, drew off a party, made afchifm, which he has ever
fince continued to this day.
Thus we have given fome brief account of the meafures
ufed by Mr. Go/s to make dHTatisfaction, ftrife, &c.
In the 20th page, Mr Go/s pretends that he was not
difmifed by a majority of the church, fays '1 26 brethren
of the church out of 53, got together, and 24. vote a
difmiffion of the minifter,&c. but (he fays) it is pretty cer-
tain that if the whole church had been affembled at the
time, fuch vote would not have been obtained. "
This we declare to be a very unjuft reprefentatipn,
for there was but 5 2 in the church at the time of Mr.
Go/s's difmiffion, one of whom we appreh ended could not
properly a£l at that time, and hath repeatedly declared
that he had no right to act on either part ; and we know
that every brother of the church being notified to meet
at the meeting-houfe in Bolton, on. the 2 2d day of
July 1 77 1 — above 30 members did meet at that time and
place; that 28 acled in organizing themfelves, viz. choof-
ing a moderator and fcribeof the church, and 3ifo in fend-
ing propofals to Mr. Go/s for his taking a difmiffion; and
adjourn'd to the 5th day of Aug. next following,™ order to
hear Mr. Gofsh anfwer to (aid propofals. That agreable to
faid adjournment they met, and received an anfwer frcra
Mr. Go/s not to accept of our propofah, nor make any
propofals to us, but conclude?, faying, fl I heartily wiflj
vou may be directed of God, and that we may all have
hearts difpofed to comply with it,"
Upon the reception of this, the church fent him another
meflage, fignifying to him, that as there appeared no
profpeft of an accommodation, we therefore adjourned to
( 7« )
Thurfday,one o'clock, P.M. toconfiderofthegrievances,and
if no means of accommodation could be found out, to con*
fider whether it is bell on our part to declare the relation
diflblved, and to aft accordingly. Signifying withal, that
the defign of the above me/Tage was, that he might attend
at the time and place if he thought proper. The church ,
viz. 26 members (two of our number being unable of bo-
dy to attend) met at the time and place as adjourn'd, and
voted Mr. Go/s's difmifiion by a unanimous vote, as was
declared in open church meeting, and no objection. And
that the world may know that Mr. Gofs's pretenfions a-
bout the improbability of a vote having been obtained if
the whole church had been together, are falfe and ground-
lefs. We fign our names hereto, in which figning we
mean to fhow that we are fatisfied of the truth of the facls
fet forth in this Reply. At the fame time teftify to the
world, that we were for Mr. Gofs's difmiflion at the time
uf it, and have continued fo ever flnce. We alfo hereby
teftify, that one who then a&ed for it, has fince deceafed,
and one who did not then join with us, has fince united.
And laft May when Mr. Gofs's adherents made their
utmoft efforts againft our fettling th« Rev. Mr. PFalley,
there could be found no more than 20 brethren to fign on
his fide, when at the fame time there was 28 on our's.
Samuel Jones, Benjamin Atherton,
Robert Longley, Josiah Sawyer,
Paul Whetcomb, William Sawyer,
Calvin Greenleaf, Thomas Sawyer,
Artemas How, Oliver Barrett,
Israel Greenleaf, Simon Whetcomb,
Eliakim Avherton, John Whetcomb,
Pavid Stiles, John Hudson,
Nathaniel Wilson, Silas Bailey,
John Moore, jun'r. Ephraim Fairbank,
Jabez Fairbank, John Pierce,
David Whetcomb, Nathaniel Longley,
Daniel Greenleaf, James Goddard,
Bolt en, Auguft 3, 1773.
Lately Publifhed,
And to be Sold at John Boyle's Printing-OfHce next
Door to the Three Doves in Marlborough- Street,
BOSTON:
The following BOOKS, Viz.
A VINDICATION of the Government of the JvVw-
England Churches : Drawn from Antiquity ; the
Light of Nature ; Holy Scripture ; Its Noble Nature ; and
from the Dignity Divine Providence has put upon it.-—
Also, — The Churches Quarrel Efpoufed : Or, a Satyri-
cal Reply, to certain Propofals made, in Anfwer to this
Queftion, — What further Steps are to be taken, that the
Councils may have due Conftitution and Efficacy in Sup-
porting, Preferving, and Well-Ordering the Intereft of the
Churches in the Country. By JOHN WISE, Late Pallor
to a Church in Ipfwicb.
A PLATFORM of CHURCH GISCIPLINE : Ga-
thered out of the Word of God, and agreed upon by
the Elders and MefTengers of the Churches afiembled at
Cambridge, 1648.
A CONFESSION of FAITH, owned and confented
unto by the Elders and MefTengers of the Churches
afTembled at Bojlon, New-England ', May 12, l6§0.
A TREATISE on CHURCH- GOVERNMENT, in
Three Parts : Being, I. A Narrative of the late
Troubles and Tranfaclions in the Church at Bolton, in the
Majfacbufetts. II. Some Remarks on Mr. Adams's Ser-
mon, preached there Augujl 26, 1772. With an Appen-
dix, being Remarks on an Account in the Bofton Evening-
Poll, Dec. 28, 1772, of the Difmiflion of a Minifter ac
Grafton. III. On Councils, their Bufinefs, Authority and
Ufe. With an Effay on Minifters negativing the Votes of
the Church, and (hewing where the Keys of the Church
are. By a NEIGHBOUR.
OBSERVATIONS upon the Congregational Plan of
Church-Government, particularly as it refpetts the
Choice and Removal of Church-Officers, fupported by the
Teftimony of the Fathers of New -England, and unanimoufly
offered to the Confideration of the CHURCHES, by the
Convention of the Minifters of the Province of the Majf.i-
chitfttti*&ayt at their annual Meeting in Bofton, May, 1775*
3>,
!^^Jy%
•»)
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